"If he doesn't show up, I'm out" - Khabib Nurmagomedov opens up on confronting Dana White over UFC 229 presser walkout

Khabib Nurmagomedov recently discussed his interaction with Dana White regarding his walkout from the UFC 229 pre-fight press conference. Nurmagomedov said he chose to leave because he decided not to wait for Conor McGregor, who was a bit late to arrive.

Nurmagomedov's rivalry with McGregor still remains one of the most heated in MMA history. Notably, before their highly anticipated lightweight title clash at UFC 229 in 2018, the Dagestani legend walked out of the final press conference, frustrated by McGregor’s behavior, as the Irishman reportedly arrived 30 minutes late.

In a recent appearance on the Russian podcast called Hustle Show, which offered English subtitles to its audience, Nurmagomedov revealed his conversation with White before departing:

''I still had weight to cut. Everything was scheduled to the minute... At 3 p.m., the press conference starts. According to the schedule and the contract, it runs from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m., I think, no delays allowed. I showed up and asked if he had arrived yet. They said, ‘No.’ And someone said, ‘He hasn’t even left yet.’ He’s probably going to be late. And I’m like, 'Aha.'''

Nurmagomedov continued:

''So I’m sitting there in the locker room. I didn’t say anything to anyone and I think to myself when there’s five minutes left, I’ll say I’m not doing it. Five minutes left. I said, ‘I’ll sit for 10 to 15 minutes. If he doesn’t show up, I’m out.’ I said, ‘Get the cars ready.’.. I told the producer, ‘I’m staying until 3:15, then I’m leaving.’.. Then he went to Dana [White] and told him. Dana came up to me, I said, ‘I’m not staying. I’ll stay for 15 minutes. I’m leaving.’ ‘Alright,’ he said, ‘OK, kid.’.. I left. Turns out he arrived like half an hour later.''

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's comments below (19:50):

Nurmagomedov successfully defended his 155-pound belt by submitting McGregor with a tight rear-naked choke in the fourth round.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov says Ilia Topuria isn't like Conor McGregor

Many in the MMA community have drawn parallels between Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor, citing the Georgian-Spaniard's confidence in recent times, which helped him become the 10th UFC fighter to win belts in two weight classes.

In the aforementioned Hustle Show podcast, Khabib Nurmagomedov was asked if Topuria could follow in the footsteps of McGregor. 'The Eagle' refuted, stating:

''No [Topuria couldn't be the next Conor], he's a good guy. You can tell he's trying to become someone. . . . I don't think so.'' [23:56]