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When Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov locked horns inside the octagon on October 6, 2020, the entire world of mixed-martial-arts kept tabs on what was dubbed as the biggest fight in the history of the UFC.
A great deal of drama before the fight led to a ferocious buildup, plus, the stardom of both the fighters and the bad blood between them ultimately spawned the biggest UFC fight of all time.
McGregor was coming off an incredible TKO victory over Eddie Alvarez, becoming UFC's first-ever two-division champion. However, nearly two years had passed since the Irishman achieved that feat, and the UFC lightweight division was now ruled by a new stalwart - Khabib Nurmagomedov.
After close to a two-year layoff, McGregor was set to face the sturdiest challenge of his MMA career against Nurmagomedov, the undefeated champion who was 10-0 in the UFC at that point, and when the fight finally came to fruition, it was the Russian who emerged victorious.
Quite evident from what happened in the fight, it didn't even look like Nurmagomedov was given a run for his money. 'The Eagle' comfortably breezed past his adversary in a fight that failed to stretch to the fifth round.
What round did Khabib beat McGregor?
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor in the fourth minute of the fourth round.
The Eagle towered over McGregor in a full-mount and successfully pulled off a rear-naked choke that saw the Irishman tap instantly when he realized Nurmagomedov had a firm grip over his chin.
Entering the fourth round, Nurmagomedov had taken a lot of steam out of McGregor's tank. The Notorious looked exhausted but still offered some punches which didn't inflict much damage on his Russian opponent.
Nurmagomedov, trying to land a takedown, pushed McGregor against the fence and successfully took the fight to the mat. The Irishman had no response to The Eagle's nasty ground and pound. In the fourth round of the fight, Nurmagomedov proved that even UFC's biggest ever star was not good enough to dethrone him.
McGregor believes he won the first and third round against Nurmagomedov
While it's a compelling argument in the MMA community regarding the potential winner of the third round - in which many believe Conor McGregor edged Khabib Nurmagomedov - the Irishman recently claimed that he was 2-1 up before the fight was taken into the championship rounds.
McGregor asserted that he had won both the first and third rounds against Nurmagomedov. The Notorious also stated that while The Eagle got the better of him in the second round, he enjoyed an advantage over his Russian opponent in the fourth round before he was taken down.
"On the mula! Round 1’s mine. Out struck 3-1. Elbow,knees,clatters! He held on. 2s his but I land multiple knees. One from standing after the overhand, and one from bottom into the eye socket at kimura attempt. Not a scratch end of round also. I won round 3, and 4 until the trip."
McGregor added that the reason why he thinks he won the first round was because he caused more damage.
"Damage! Back hands forced him to the fence. Knee into neck as he shot, after 15 seconds of opening bell. Heavy elbow right into his temple as he froze after his shot. Repeated clatters to the temple while he tries his mermaid wrap leg. Rd was 1 pitiful from him. Rd 2 saved him."
Conor McGregor set to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 257
After suffering a defeat at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov, The Notorious returned to the octagon in January 2020 against Donald Cerrone. McGregor put on a stellar performance against 'Cowboy', knocking him out in 40 seconds.
The 32-year-old Irishman will be facing another tough challenge against Dustin Poirier, at UFC 257 on January 23, 2021.
Following his retirement announcement, Khabib Nurmagomedov's future in the UFC is not clear at this point, which will motivate both McGregor and Poirier to bring out their best, since this fight is likely to have title implications.
