Conor McGregor seemed to have a particular goal in mind at the UFC 229 press conference – to agitate Khabib Nurmagomedov until he reacted.
Dana White summed up the UFC 229 press conference pretty damn well. In his eyes, Conor McGregor tried to cut deep with his very personal insults.
“It was dark, man. It was the darkest press conference I’ve ever been a part of. Conor McGregor is the master of mental warfare.”
“Yes, you’re not human if that doesn’t affect you. It’s impossible not to affect. Conor knows that. Conor came in and did what Conor does. That’s why I say he’s the best ever.”
With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the Dagestani reacted to the most personal trash talk that was thrown his way in New York.
The first blow
At first, a wide smile washed over Khabib’s face.
“I came back for the love of this, to come and shut this man up. A little rat, a little weasel, a little hard man in groups. I’ve met many of them through my years. A man who grows in numbers but on his own when confronted in a similar situation cowers away. That’s what you saw with that little shite on the bus over there. He shit his jocks after doing something to his own coutryman that had nothing got to do with anything. I came back for the love of fighting and the love of war. I am going to truly, truly love putting a bad, bad beating on this glass-jawed rat.”
Fan boy
Then McGregor brought up the t-shirt tweet from 2014.
@Dethrone_Dan @TheNotoriousMMA I like this t-shirt, I need👍😉
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) September 9, 2014
“Fan boy! The man was a fan boy. He bought t-shirts of mine to support the fucking cause. Remember that, you little fan boy bitch. Nothing but respect. And then over in his neck of the woods, a man involved in something – who’s now in prison, Vladimir Putin locked him up for embezzling 150 million from the Russian people started to invest and pump money into his gym. So he started to grow in power. He started to gain false power and think he was a little hard man tough man. Then shit hit the fan with your man, he gets locked up and there’s not a bean left. And now here I am to put the nail in the coffin.”
Nurmagomedov giggled to himself throughout the rant. Then when he was asked to give a response, he simpy stated, ‘This is everything what I expect.”
Smashing time
“Smash me, mate! Smash me! Here, smash me!”
When McGregor got up from his seat, Nurmagomedov looked a little… flinchy. However, he returned to his stoic demeanour almost immediately.
The bus
“You say ‘send location’. Here it is right in front of you. Did you not see me outside the bus, no? Did you not see me right in front of you outside the fucking bus?”
At this point, the Dagestani started giggling again.
“I showed you my hands, no weapons. The first thing I did when I showed up at that bus, I showed him my hands to let him know I come here unarmed. No weapons. Step off the bus. You talked a big game, now I’m here. He done fucking nothing. He sat and took a shit on that bus, he hid and cowered behind fucking women and caused what happened to happen. Here’s my location, right here in front of you. Do something about it! Do something about it. Yeah, you’ll do nothing.”
Again. Nothing.
The scoop
When McGregor offered Nurmagomedov a glass of his new whiskey, the Russian did appear to be a little annoyed. The devout Muslim reminded everyone that he doesn’t drink. McGregor wasn’t having it.
“Why don’t you drink? I’d say you’re some buzz at parties, you mad backwards cunt! You’re dead when I get my hands on you, you hear me! You’re fucking dead!”
Long night
Then McGregor went after Khabib’s grappling-heavy fight-style.
“This fool has been saying it’s going to be a long night. Trust me, mate, I’m ready for a long night. You hold on to legs for dear life. That’s how you fight. You talk chicken this, chicken that, you shit your jocks when shit came on top.”
The little stumble gave Khabib a reason to smile.
He remained composed as McGregor attacked how he acquired the lightweight belt, by beating Al Iaquinta on a day’s notice.
“What kind of fighting is that? What kind of fighting is that? Your little fake belt over there, you beat the guy ranked No.11, a real estate agent. You bring that belt up on stage like it’s a real belt? You’re a phoney, a fake and I’m going to expose you. Now you’re up on the real shit, kid. You’re with the real dogs now, brother and you’re going to be smoked on October 6 and I am going to love every fucking second of it. I hope it’s a long night.”
Back to UFC 223
After some back-and-forth over the lack of a back-and-forth on social media, McGregor made Nurmagomedov get a little testy when he mentioned trapping and intimidating his compatriots in the hotel during UFC 223 fight week.
“You cornered a friend of mine and Islam, a Chechen man, you had nothing got to do with anything. Slapped him, abused him on foreign soil. Your own people, you rat! It’s like me seeing an Irish man over in England, let’s say.”
This seemed to irk Khabib a little.
Money
Nurmagomedov has always maintained that he fights to build a legacy. When McGregor accused him of being motivated by money, by bringing up Ziyavudin Magomedov who was arrested and charged earlier this year with “racketeering and embezzlement of state funds,” Khabib wasn’t impressed.
“You took money from Magomedov. Hold on, you took money from Magomedov and you’re a little lick-arse rat. Now what? Putin locked him up! Say something to Putin about locking Magomedov up. Say something! Ask him to release him again.”
“Oh now you don’t understand, you mad rat. You’re a fake, lying rat. I’m real. I wear it on my chest. There’s a gorilla on my chest. I wear it proud, mate. I don’t lie about nothing. You’re saying it’s not about money, it’s not about legacy. You’re a lying bastard. When money got pumped into your camp by that little scumbag that’s now in a little 8×10 cell, you thought you were a don. Now, look at ya. The state of you now. Not a bean. Yous haven’t got a washer. No money left. Hahahaha!”
Tapper
When Nurmagomedov brought up McGregor’s submission losses, the Dubliner went straight back to the bus incident.
“You tapped the bus window, kid. You tapped the bus window. He tapped the little stop that stops the bus.”
Khabib wasn’t impressed with this either. Although he may have been a little confused by the meaning of McGregor’s jab.
Khabib seemed to be a bit snippy still as the next journalist greeted him with “As-Salaam-Alaikum” before congratulating McGregor on the whiskey. McGregor proceeded to call him a ‘fucking fool and a ‘backwards cunt’. Nurmagomedov just sat there in silence.
The prediction
“Domination, his head bouncing off the canvas. All his pony talk is going to be fucking put on blast October 6. As long as it takes, I believe one. He has a glass jaw. My Chechen friends, the Vainakhy soldiers, they told me that they have chicken jaws in Dagestan and I believe them because I know a glass jaw when I see one. And I’ve seen this man wobbled many times. I’ve seen his brother sparked unconscious in another promotion. I know he is afraid of a smack. And if you’re afraid of a smack off me, a smack will feel like a double-barrell shotgun. So I believe inside the first. But, I have been wrong before. I will be prepared for five rounds.”
All Khabib could do was laugh. He refused to give his own prediction. He smiled as he shook his head at the question.
“Smell of shite off your Da”
Nurmagomedov was remarkably unfazed by the endless slew of abuse McGregor threw at his father.
“The Chechen people know what I’m talking about when I call this man a ‘coward’ when I called his father a ‘quivering coward’. Him and Kadyrov were at a mosque together and he posted a picture of Kadyrov on his Instagram site. Kadyrov is a Chechen dictator, a crazy man, don’t get me wrong, but Khabib’s father, ‘lick-arse, Lick-Arse O’Fuckin Hoolihan’ posted a picture of Kadyrov at this mosque and the caption is ‘together we are stronger’. It’s such fake respect out of fear. The Chechens know, the Chechen people know, that if the tables were turned and there was an opportunity for his father to stab that man in the back, he would do it in a heartbeat to take over and he did not do nothing. And that’s why he is a quivering coward because he showed fake respect out of fear.”
Native tongue
The part of the press conference where Nurmagomedov was at his most animated, came towards the end.
“Are you disrespecting your president, Vladimir Putin? Then what do you mean by that? Explain what you mean. Fake rat, like I said fake respect out of fear.”
“It’s all these men are known for, they were chased from their land to the edge of cliffs. My family, my bloodline, the McGregor clan. We stood, we fought. We fought the English empire, so much so that our name was banished for 100 years by King James.”
Perhaps it was the subject matter. Maybe he was just frustrated at being constantly interrupted. It may well have been just fatigue over the length of the presser. Whatever the reason was, this was when Nurmagomedov was at his angriest.
Khabib went on the offence, asking why McGregor speaks English if his ancestors fought the English empire.
It all simmered down quickly, but it was noteworthy how Nurmagomedov finally rose to this insult.
Another question was asked. Then they faced off.
