"I really want to be there all night" - Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals how he felt going into the octagon with 'mouse' Conor McGregor

Khabib Nurmagomedov participated in a Q&A session with longtime teammate Daniel Cormier and a few children at Cormier’s new wrestling academy. One of the questions asked was what 'The Eagle' felt going into the octagon against Conor McGregor.

The former UFC lightweight champion responded by claiming that he entered their UFC 229 fight expecting a war, but Conor McGregor wasn’t up to the task and didn’t give him a tough fight. ‘The Eagle’ explained:

“Like, fight day, it was like, I’m like, was very happy, you know. Like, I was thinking like, ‘Okay, finally, I’m gonna grab this guy. I’m gonna catch this guy’. He knows like a very hungry, like eagle you hold him, you hold him, you hold him, and you let him hunt, you know. And he fly and he watch, like, ‘Okay, where’s this mouse?’ You know, and he go catch him, you know; same thing. I was very happy because he talk a lot of trash.”

Additionally, Khabib Nurmagomedov recalled that it was very important for him to face and defeat Conor McGregor. He revealed that his biggest concern in the lead-up to his UFC lightweight title matchup against McGregor was staying injury-free.

Prior to his fight against McGregor, Nurmagomedov had dealt with multiple injuries, including back and knee issues. 'The Eagle' noted, however, that once he made weight, woke up the next day and trained a bit, he felt much better and was excited about finally fighting his longtime rival:

“I really wanna be there like, all night. But my opponent (Conor McGregor), he don’t want this. Like, when I come to the cage, I look at him, he don’t wanna watch my eyes. But before, he show like fighter. But when I come too close, I look at his eyes like, ‘Okay, you don’t want to watch my eyes’. Like, he go like this, like this, like this," Nurmagomedov added, gesturing that McGregor was avoiding eye contact with him.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov retired, whereas Conor McGregor continues pursuing combat sports glory

Conor McGregor (left); Khabib Nurmagomedov (right)

Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from MMA in October 2020. H currently works as an entrepreneur and continues his MMA training.

Meanwhile, combat sports megastar Conor McGregor is recovering from a leg injury. McGregor has vowed to return and reclaim UFC gold. ‘Notorious’ is expected to make his much-awaited comeback to the octagon in 2022.