UFC 229, was a historic event. Conor Mcgregor vs Khabib Nurmagamedov headlined the card. After weeks of press conferences, these two would meet in the octagon to find out who is the better fighter. Emotions were high for both men going into this fight, Mcgregor made mention that their feud is more personal than just a mixed martial arts fight. “I always say aim for peace, but if you can't aim for peace then aim in between the eyes” - Conor Mcgregor. An interesting message I’d say, considering leading up to the fight Mcgregor made harsh remarks about Khabib’s father, religion and country.
When the smoke cleared, Khabib earned the victory by rear naked choke. The fight was electrifying, both men had moments of domination. Mcgregor showed a much-improved ground game, he stuffed takedowns and even found himself in some chain wrestling. The game plan going into the fight was to K.O Khabib standing up, unfortunately, Khabib’s wrestling prowess was too overwhelming.
The event will be remembered for all the wrong reason because, after the fight, Khabib jumped over the octagon and flew into the crowd feet first to attack MMA fighter Dillion Dannis who is part of the Mcgregor training camp. While the police and security tried to control that situation, two of Khabib’s friends/teammates snuck into the cage and sucker punched Mcgregor multiple times before finally being detained by Nevada police. As a fan, I wasn’t impressed by Khabib’s after match antics. Before this fight Khabib was known as the “honorable one, the humble fighter, the family man” and Khabib was not known by many outside of the hardcore UFC fans. In his press conference, Khabib told reports “this is not my best side”. Khabib also made it a point to express his emotional frustration that he held back leading up to the fight “you cannot disrespect family and religion, this is important to me.
Results of UFC 229 Main Card:
(W) Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor Mcgregor
*Submission: rear naked choke.
(W) Tony Feguson vs Anthony Pettis
*KO by medical stoppage.
*Fight of the Night bonus
(W) Dominick Reyes vs Dominick Reyes (W)
* Won by Decision
(W) Derrick Lewis vs Alexander Volkov
*won via KO
*Knockout Bonus
(W) Michelle Waterson vs Felice Herrig
*winner by decision