Conor McGregor appears to be in line for a third fight against Nate Diaz later this year, but the Irish superstar is still itching to get back in the octagon with undefeated Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
During his recent Proper 12 Whiskey tour across the States, McGregor made an appearance at Binny's Beverage Depot in Chicago where he spent some time standing on top of the bar, speaking with those in attendance.
(Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)
Naturally, there was plenty of talk about Khabib, and McGregor's hopes for a rematch.
“He’s a formidable opponent, wrestled bears since he was a kid,” McGregor said of Khabib (transcribed via BJPenn.com). “He’s put a lot of time in his standup work and it was a lot sharper than I anticipated it was going to be. I’ve got to respect that, it was his big moment.
“It’s easy to do this once, it’s very easy for someone to be given something and to do it just one time. It’s like you put your absolute all into it.”
Although McGregor tapped out in the fourth round at UFC 229, he contends that there is still unfinished business stemming from the post-fight melee that resulted in lengthy suspensions for both fighters.
“When there’s dispute, there must be a rematch,” McGregor said. “There was dispute in my last one, I slapped his brother and his cousin on top of the cage, he [Nurmagomedov] tried to jump out and run. This is not over, so there’s dispute, there has to be a rematch.”
(Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
In discussing what went wrong during the UFC 229 bout against Khabib, McGregor explained:
“That’s what I feel has happened here, I didn’t give him his respect, I marched forward, I didn’t give a sh-t, I got caught with that overhand,” the Irishman explained. “If I switched on, I would not get caught with that overhand in any form of combat. I’m very confident, very eager, very in shape, let’s keep it going.”
“Imagine almost dropping someone ‘cause he almost got me, but he didn’t drop me,” he continued. “I got to my feet, threw shots, threw a knee, and he shot for a takedown. Imagine almost dropping someone with a picture-perfect shot, a picture-perfect punch, and then shooting for the legs. You almost got the fight done and you shoot for the legs - stand up and fight.”
Check out his full comments in the video embedded below.
