This has hair standing on the back of necks.
Almost two years on from his last fight in the Octagon, Conor McGregor’s eagerly anticipated UFC comeback is finally upon us.
It was in November of 2016 when McGregor defeated Eddie Alvarez to become the UFC’s lightweight champion and during his break from the game over the last two years, he was stripped of that title and Khabib Nurmagomedov was the man who stepped up to inherit his crown.
Ever since the 26-0 Russian took McGregor’s title, the barbs have been flying and the tension has been rising between the pair. McGregor may have been resting on his laurels for a while but he was always eyeing a blockbuster return to the ring and a bout in Sin City against the man who overtook him in his absence certainly meets that criteria.
While Drake was backstage draped in a tricolour #UFC229 https://t.co/XEarojQ99D
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 6, 2018
The build-up to this fight goes a long way back and it’s fair to say that it has become a battle of gangs, and a battle of culture in the meantime. The seriousness of the insults being traded between the pair ensures there will be some bad blood between them by the time they step into the cage in the T-Mobile Arena at 5.00am Irish time in the early hours of Sunday morning.
His two years of leave from the game ensures that Conor McGregor goes into this one as an underdog. He’s 6/4 to beat the Dagestani while Khabib is 4/7 to retain his title. The bookies are rarely wrong and those odds just go to show the scale of the uphill battle Conor McGregor will be facing in Las Vegas.
Both men have made weight, they almost came to blows at the ceremonial weigh-ins and the hype really is in motion now. It’s fight time and the 64-year-old legendary American actor, director and producer John Malkovich has whetted appetites for the big bout with one spine-tingling promo on ESPN.
“There’s only one way to decide who truly deserves to sit on the throne…lock the door and let them fight,” the telling line.
If the video isn’t popping up for you, follow this link to view the full trailer.
Will be Dagestan or Dublin?
