Three more days…
UFC 229 is edging closer and closer.
On Saturday, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov will square off in one of the most highly anticipated fights in the promotions history, and everybody is having their say on who will come out victorious.
One man that will have a vested interest in the outcome will be former UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis who faces Tony Ferguson in the co-main event.
Both men are former champions in their own right, and it is highly likely that the winner of Saturday’s co-main event will then step up to fight whoever is victorious in the headline bout.
With that in mind the creator of the ‘Showtime kick’ has given his thoughts on who he believes will win this weekend.
Speaking at a media event to promote his upcoming fight with Ferguson, the former lightweight king believes that McGregor’s CV impresses more than Khabib’s and thus solidifies him more as a champion.
“I think Conor’s win over Eddie solidifies him more as champion, more than Khabib beating Al,”
“That’s just facts. The belt is where it is, they had to do it for the business, they had to move it forward, but if it was true to the game, Conor would be the champion.”
When asked to predict a winner, the Milwaukee based fighter stated very matter-of-factly who he thinks will reign supreme at UFC 229.
“I think Conor wins,”
“Knockout. I don’t know what round.”
Pettis believes that Khabib’s championship winning performance over Al Iaquinta proved that his striking game is not up to par. He thinks that if Khabib comes in with the same game plan against the Dubliner then it will be a short night.
“We’ve all seen his striking game,” Pettis said.
“We saw him in his last fight against Al and how he performed. If he comes like that against Conor? I mean, that’s the wrong guy to do it against.
“I’m sure he’s motivated, I’m sure Conor’s motivated. But I’m picking Conor.”
With regards to his own fight on Saturday, the former champion believes he will send a message to all of MMA that he is back in title contention. Pettis highlighted how he nearly got to fight Khabib at UFC 223 after Max Holloway was pulled from the fight.
“I think my performance will send a message,” Pettis said.
“I think that fight is a great fight. I mean, Khabib is undefeated, i almost had the chance to fight him in Brooklyn, that didn’t happen. I think the media pushed that harder than it was, I didn’t really have a guarantee that I was fighting Khabib.
“I was almost there, I got excited, now I’m here, I’m fighting Tony, the main event is a great fight, Conor vs. Khabib, they’re both good.”
Only three more days to go…
