Conor McGregor sat down with Ariel Helwani on Sunday for a virtual interview before his UFC 257 fight. They discussed a myriad of topics from McGregor’s retirement in 2020 to his recent indecent exposure allegations. But one of the most noteworthy segments of the interview was when Conor reminisced about the unfortunate events that took place during the main event of UFC 229.
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He said that he still considered himself to be the champion as neither anyone was crowned as the unified champion that night nor during the post-fight ceremony that took place. Taking a jibe at The Eagle, he told Helwani that Nurmagomedov fled the cage leaving his family to fight him.
It is worth noting that the UFC 229 incident is one of the most controversial events in UFC history. Take a look at the excerpt from the interview below:
“Do you know that the unified title was never crowned? … Khabib fled the cage and left me fighting with his family members in the cage.”@TheNotoriousMMA says he is still lightweight champion because the post-fight ceremony at UFC 229 never took place. (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/nWBGPsZMPQ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 17, 2021
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McGregor is all set to start this new year with a rematch against his 155-pound rival, Dustin Poirier. The former 2 division champion was last inside the octagon in 2020 when he knocked Cowboy Cerrone out. On the other hand, Khabib retired last year with a perfect record of 29-0. He was last seen going toe to toe against Justin Gaethje who he submitted in the 2nd round.
Conor McGregor seems to be eyeing the Khabib rematch more than ever
It is quite safe to say that The Notorious must be aiming to claim the lightweight championship once again. Fans can expect more shots aimed toward Nurmagomedov by McGregor as he might be eyeing a Khabib rematch to make it even.
Even though Khabib has left the game, he’s still the champion as Dana White still hopes for a comeback. Moreover, the UFC president has stated that Khabib would come back if any lightweight puts on an impressive performance.
Indeed the chances of Khabib Nurmagomedov v/s. Conor McGregor 2 are slim.
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