UFC: Conor McGregor Might Not Have What It Takes To Beat Khabib

Conor McGregor may not have what it takes to beat his UFC nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Last year, two of UFC’s greatest lightweights, McGregor and Nurmagomedov, clashed inside the octagon. During the intense fight, Nurmagomedov ended up submitting McGregor with an impressive neck crank.

This year, Mcgregor vows to redeem himself by getting another shot at the Russian MMA star. However, the real question is, does the “Notorious” have what it takes to finally end the flawless record of Nurmagomedov.

In a recent exclusive interview with ESPN, McGregor, in his own words, admitted the mistakes he made during the fight with Nurmagomedov. According to McGregor, he was too serious during training sessions but when the fight finally came down, it was all gone.

“I was too committed in the gym and not committed enough outside of it,” McGregor admitted.

McGregor also reflected on not being all-in during big fights and stated that he paid the price for it.

“You cannot be “half-in,” especially in a game like this. And I paid the price for it,” McGregor added.

Now that the rematch is likely to happen, the former two-division champ is set to take his title back. McGregor swears for redemption and claimed that he learned a lot from the devastating loss.

McGregor even mentioned the only reason why Nurmagomedov managed to be in a dominant position during the match. As per McGregor, Nurmagomedov “ran away” from him and he lost his respect for the champ because of it. As a result of “walking around with disrespect,” Nurmagomedov suddenly was able to take him down.

“He ran away for that the first round. He didn’t throw a punch, he shot for the legs before he threw a punch. The only reason he ended up in that dominant position was because I walked around with disrespect towards him because he was just running around that cage,” McGregor explained.

However, based on the analysis of a former UFC title challenger Kenny Florian, one of the best possible ways to stop Nurmagomedov is through Jiu-jitsu. A skill which is not really included in McGregor’s resume.

Speaking with FightTips last month, Florian explained that Nurmagomedov has been wrestling for his entire career and it is totally the wrong way to fight him. Florian emphasized that Jiu-jitsu could at least put Nurmagomedov’s opponent into a position that will allow him to get back on his feet and engage him in a standup fight.

“I think one way to counteract Khabib is trying to utilize jiu-jitsu to create scrambles to get back to your feet,” Florian pointed.