UFC superstar Conor McGregor believes only knockouts matter in MMA, but an old rival who submitted him inside the Octagon begs to differ. McGregor’s comment about only knockouts mattering in MMA happened during a recent interview with ESPN’S Stephen A. Smith.
McGregor said, “My record in mixed martial arts competition is 19 wins and one loss. I only count knockouts. Dustin’s record is 13 wins, two losses. The only thing that’s final in this business is a knockout. All the other s***, the decisions, the taps, all that s*** means nothing to me. I am coming to take a head off.”
But retired UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov didn’t agree with that analysis. The Russian posted his comment about McGregor’s claim directly on ESPN MMA’s Instagram page.
Nurmagomedov posted, “There is nothing better in this sport, than [to] bring your opponent to the deep ocean, let them know what they’re about and let them tap.”
You can see that interaction below.
Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor back in 2018 in the best-selling UFC pay-per-view event in history at UFC 229.
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McGregor’s Rivalry With Nurmagomedov Continues
Nurmgaomedov is one of the most decorated champions in MMA history, thanks in large part to his glossy record. The famed UFC lightweight champion ran his overall MMA record to 29-0, and he retired at the top of the sport as the UFC champ at 155 pounds.
But McGregor claimed this week in that same interview with Smith that Nurmagomedov hadn’t made a huge impact in the sport.
“He’s done nothing in the sport,” McGregor ranted.
“He’s done nothing in the sport.”
@TheNotoriousMMA doesn’t think highly of Khabib’s resume 😬 #UFC264 (via @stephenasmith)
So McGregor’s rivalry with Nurmagomedov, if you can even still call it that at this point, seems to have continued even though the latter is retired from MMA.
In fact, McGregor dismissing his rival’s pristine record might have been the reason why Nurmagomedov decided to chime in about McGregor’s strange point-of-view on wins and losses in the first place.
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UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3 on July 10
McGregor will face Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 264 on Jul 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Whatever the Irish superstar believes about MMA records, the rules of the sport don’t work the way he suggested they do to Smith.
McGregor is 21-4, and Poirier is 27-6. The winner of UFC 264 is likely to get the first crack at the UFC lightweight champion that followed Nurmagomedov after the Russian retired.
Whether by knockout, submission, or decision, the victory of UFC 264 will be the one facing Charles Oliveira.
The loser will have to find a way back up the rankings of arguably the most stacked division in the sport.
Poirier defeated McGregor by second-round stoppage at UFC 257 in January 2021, and McGregor stopped Poirier in the first round of a featherweight contest in 2014. Now, the two stars are headed into an important rubbermatch.
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Retired UFC Champ Trolls Conor McGregor: ‘Nothing Better’