Conor McGregor vs Khabib press conference: Watch video replay ahead of UFC lightweight title fight
It was an unconventional final press conference ahead of Saturday's fight
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The final press conference ahead of Conor McGregor’s UFC title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov didn’t go quite as planned in Las Vegas on Thursday evening.
McGregor was thirty minutes late to the presser, with reigning champion Khabib deciding against sticking around to trade insults with him.
Instead Khabib made a hasty exit after answering a handful of questions, with McGregor then appearing to promise he would “knock his nose into the nosebleeds” come Saturday night. Relive the best of the press conference below.
What's the latest?
Conor McGregor believes he has spotted flaws in Khabib Nurmagomedov's fighting style and intends to "take his head off" in their showdown for the UFC lightweight title.
Their bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this weekend has been billed as the biggest in the UFC's history and McGregor is looking to make a statement against the person who succeeded him as 155lb champion.
At the workouts open to the public at the Park Theater, McGregor thrilled those in attendance as he introduced his young son before settling into his routine, predictably focusing on his striking technique.
Conor McGregor's most controversial moments
Show all 13Afterwards he told the cheering audience: "Saturday night: You're in for a show, trust me on that. I'm going to take his head off. Trust me.
"(It will be a) devastating KO. (Nurmagomedov is) too easy to hit, too flat-footed, too predictable, I'm going to knock him clean out."
McGregor is returning to the UFC after a near two-year absence against Nurmagomedov, who will make the first defence of the title he won by beating late replacement Al Iaquinta in April.
The Irishman was relieved of the crown because of his hiatus from the octagon, having made a brief foray into boxing to challenge Floyd Mayweather in a highly lucrative contest in August last year.
Now he is back in mixed martial arts for a fight that is seen as a puncher versus a grappler, but McGregor is unfazed by his Russian opponent's gameplan.
He added: "I don't give a f*** about anything. Any wrestling, any technique, any anything. I'm coming for that man's head from the f****** bell.
"It's good to be back. Let's go do it. A proper fight, a proper, proper fight."
Nurmagomedov had earlier been given a hostile reception from a largely pro-McGregor crowd and appeared to cut his session short in order to remonstrate with his foe's supporters.
As the jeers continued, he insisted he would win them over, saying: "Three days. You're going to like me. I know you're going to love me."
The 30-year-old, who put a particular emphasis on his takedowns and wrestling during his programme on Wednesday afternoon, also questioned McGregor's pride in his Irish heritage.
McGregor mentioned in last month's press conference about how his ancestors fought the English empire and that his family name was banned for a century by King James.
Nurmagomedov, though, referenced McGregor's grandfather's time with the British Merchant Navy.
Nurmagomedov said: "These guys talk about (how) they fight English people but his grandfather worked with the English navy. Now you support (his grandson)? I'm going to change this on Saturday night.
"I have a question for Ireland. What about your language, what about your Irish language? Where's your language? What's wrong with your language?
"Are you guys right now with England, you guys change your language. Give me answer someone if you can. It's very interesting."
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'There's a problem with trying to be constantly controversial – when everything is, inversely nothing is as it becomes normality. There are those who say McGregor is entertaining but by now he's predictable, boring and, at regular intervals, much worse.'
Not best pleased
Tony Ferguson was due to fight Khabib for the vacant lightweight title, only for a knee injury to rule him out and the UFC to strip him of his interim champion status
How McGregor fell out of love with UFC
Conor McGregor has admitted he "fell out of love with the game" as he prepares to make his long-awaited return to the UFC this weekend.
The Notorious hasn't entered the Octagon since defeating Eddie Alvarez way back in 2016 but returns on Saturday night in Las Vegas when he takes on Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title.
McGregor was infamously stripped of both his featherweight and lightweight titles, a key motivation for the Irishman ahead of this fight, and he admits it affected his focus.
"I fell out of love with the game for a bit, went off on to my own thing," McGregor told The Mac Life. "Had many things going on. Now I’m back. I’m hungry to compete. And we’re here right on the cusp of it. Making weight, handling the media obligations. And that’s it."
McGregor lost the featherweight strap, won with the second round stoppage of Alvarez, just weeks later before going on to lose the lightweight belt in April of this year.
"I spent my entire life’s work to win those two world titles," he added. "Those two UFC world titles. I set out a goal, I put everything, absolutely everything, sacrificed so much times, sacrificed so much to gain those world titles.
"And then as soon as I win the second world title, I wasn’t even offered a featherweight contest and the featherweight title was taken off of me and handed back to a man that I had a crazy history with.
"I travelled the world with a two year build up. He ended up pulling out last minute. Blah blah blah blah blah, when I end the fight, I knock him out in in 13 seconds and then they give the belt back as soon as I walk out the Octagon in Madison Square Garden. And then like, what, about a month, a month or two, the lightweight belt is stripped from me also.
"So these kind of things irritate me. Especially seeing what way it goes, who the belts are given to, who the people are that are challenging the belts. Who the person who has the belt is facing to get the belt.
"Many things irritate me in the game, and just watching it unfold, I just became more hungry to come back and show who the real king is."
The undercard
Lightweight: Gray Maynard vs Nik Lentz
Women's Bantamweight: Lina Lansberg vs Yana Kunitskaya
Welterweight: Ryan LaFlare vs Tony Martin
Lightweight: Scott Holtzman vs Alan Patrick
Flyweight: Sergio Pettis vs Jussier Formiga
Women's Strawweight: Michelle Waterson vs Felice Herrig
Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis vs Alexander Volkov
Light Heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux vs Dominick Reyes
Lightweight: Tony Ferguson vs Anthony Pettis
When two worlds collide
It's well worth seeing this if you haven't already.
Who would win in a fight?
The fashion stakes
What will Conor McGregor be wearing for this evening's press conference? Whatever it will be, it's going to make one hell of a statement!
Who can forget the Mayweather suit?
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