Conor McGregor vs Khabib LIVE: Fight ends in chaos as police drag victorious Khabib off McGregor's cornermen
Re-live LIVE coverage of the biggest event in the history of the UFC
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Conor McGregor suffered the second defeat of his UFC career after being submitted by unbeaten UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in arguably the biggest event in the history of the UFC, but the fight descended into chaos immediately after it ended as both fighters were involved in post-match brawls.
A typically acrimonious build-up to the fight, with McGregor ending up in a New York courtroom after he attempted to attack his rival backstage at a UFC event in April, unsurprisingly led to bad blood between the pair, but no one was prepared for the scenes that followed the fight.
After dominating McGregor throughout the first three rounds, Khabib choked McGregor out to force him into submitting, but reacted by jumping over the Octagon fence to confront his teammates, while members from his own stable jumped into the Octagon to attack McGregor. Re-live all the action here.
Essential information:
When is UFC 229?
Khabib vs McGregor will take place on 6 October 2018, or 7 October for UK fans. The fight takes place in Las Vegas, which means it’s going to be a very late night (or very early morning) for all British fight fans.
Where is UFC 229?
Like most of the UFC’s big events, UFC 229 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
It’s the same venue that staged Mayweather vs McGregor, as Nurmagomedov’s unanimous decision victory over Edson Barboza back in December 2017.
What are their records?
- Nurmagomedov: 26 fights, 26 wins. (8 KOs, 8 submissions, 10 decisions.)
- McGregor: 24 fights, 21 wins, 3 losses. (18 KOs, 1 submission, 2 decisions.) (All defeats by way of submission.)
Where can I watch it?
BT Sport.
Conor McGregor was joined by Drake as he faced off with Khabib Nurmagomedov in an explosive weigh-in ahead of their eagerly-anticipated UFC lightweight title showdown.
The pair both made the 155lb limit on Friday morning but tensions threatened to boil over at the ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 229 at the final staredown later in the day at the T-Mobile Arena.
As they got into their fighting poses, McGregor brought his arms down on Nurmagomedov before aiming a kick at his bitter rival after being beckoned forward by the Russian.
Nurmagomedov seemed unflustered by the antics or another barracking from a crowd largely supporting McGregor, whose entourage on the stage at the venue included the Canadian rapper draped in an Irish flag.
A reminder of what went down at the weigh-in
Conor McGregor attempted to take the attack to Khabib Nurmagomedov a day before their eagerly-anticipated UFC lightweight title showdown.
The pair both made the 155lb limit on Friday morning but tensions threatened to boil over at the ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 229 at the final staredown later in the day at the T-Mobile Arena.
As they got into their fighting poses, McGregor brought his arms down on Nurmagomedov before aiming a kick at his bitter rival after being beckoned forward by the Russian.
Nurmagomedov seemed unflustered by the antics or another barracking from a crowd largely supporting McGregor, whose entourage on to the stage at the venue included the rapper Drake draped in an Irish flag.
McGregor made one last attempt to charge at Nurmagomedov but the fighters were held back from each other by a throng of security personnel.
McGregor then turned his attention to the thousands in attendance, the arena a sea of the green, white and orange colours of Ireland, and seemed to revel in their support as he prepares for his first UFC bout in nearly two years.
"It's good to be back," he said. "UFC fans it's good to be back. The king is home."
Nurmagomedov was heavily booed at the open workouts and the news conference earlier this week, so it came as little surprise when he was once again subjected to jeers from the crowd.
Addressing the hostile reception, Nurmagomedov, who was wearing his signature papakha hat, said: "Tomorrow night I'm going to smash your boy.
"I want to say thank you to all Irish fans around the world. Because of you guys, this fight is happening."
The unbeaten Nurmagomedov is making the first defence of the lightweight title he won in April by outpointing late replacement Al Iaquinta, taking his professional record to 26-0 as a result.
He has struggled to make weight in the past, most memorably being withdrawn from a contest against Tony Ferguson last year by doctors, but there seemed to be no problems this time around.
All fighters on the card had a two-hour window from 9am local time to weigh in and Nurmagomedov turned up immediately to tip the scales at 155lbs.
McGregor arrived a little over an hour later and came in at half a pound lighter.
Conor McGregor in this video is all of us right now. There's still a number of hours to go, but I can't wait.
Who wins?
I can't decide, so you lot do it and then I'll just agree with that.
Tony Ferguson faces Anthony Pettis on tonight's UFC 229 card, a match-up worthy of being the co-main event to the sport's biggest ever fight.
Ferguson, the #2 in the lightweight rankings, launched a verbal attack at not only the UFC as an organisation, but Khabib and McGregor too.
Read all about it below
Infamously, Khabib has never lost a single round in his time as a UFC fighter.
His record stands at 26-0. Eight wins by knockout, eight by submission and 10 by decision.
McGregor has quite the task on his hands, having not fought in the octagon since November 2016.
The pair at yesterday's weigh-in
Look at that for some street art in Los Angeles.
Far and wide, McGregor's support is plenty.
Khabib might be the current champion of the division and one of the pound-for-pound best right now, but you can forgive the casual fan for not knowing too much about him.
We've got you sorted. It's fine, you're welcome. Don't worry about it. Enjoy.
The last time McGregor fought, it was in a different sport. Boxing.
You already knew that.
Do you remember it?
Well, if you don't and for some reason you fancy reliving it (because it was historic whether you like it or not), here's the report that The Independent's Luke Brown wrote on the night.
Not a bad piece of writing, he'll also be doing tonight's report and plugging into this live coverage as he has been already.
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