Conor McGregor says Islam Makhachev is a greater fighter than Khabib Nurmagomedov, dismissing his 2018 submission loss to Khabib by pointing to the circumstances surrounding his own preparation for that fight and arguing Khabib never showed true courage in competition.
McGregor made the comments to Complex ahead of his UFC 329 return.
The guy done nothing in the sport. Thirteen fights he’s had in the company, that’s it, and three against ‘name’ opponents. He had a fight against me. I was off the yacht. I was doing bad things on a yacht. I was partying heavily, and I was up to my eyeballs in court cases and all of this. I hadn’t fought in two years. I was worth $200 million and I come back and fight this f*cking guy. I done four rounds with him. I had a broken toe. This guy’s nothing. Then where is he now also? He’s gone. So I don’t rate him at all. No courage. The man has no courage.
He also dismissed Khabib’s pre-UFC record.
His first half of his work was fighting in his father’s shows in the middle of nowhere. He’s like 12-0, the opponent he’s fighting is 0-0. Never fought above weight divisions. Three fights, no stoppages, no knockouts in the UFC. How many knockouts has he got? Three or four? Come on, man.
McGregor was clear that he rates Makhachev significantly higher.
He’s above Khabib. Finishes, body of work, both divisions. For sure he is. Still in it, still at it. There’s a lot left in that boy.
Khabib submitted McGregor in the fourth round of their UFC 229 clash in 2018, a bout that remains the highest-selling pay-per-view in UFC history. The fight was followed by a brawl between both camps that resulted in fines and suspensions. Khabib retired in 2020 with a 29-0 record.
