Khabib vs Conor McGregor UFC 229 press conference: 'There will be blood on this canvas, October 6'
McGregor and Khabib taunted one anotther on stage in New York, with McGregor warning that there will be blood in the Octagon this October
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Conor McGregor returns to the Octagon next month after last year’s defeat by Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring.
The Irishman goes head to head with the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov on 6 October, in what will be arguably the biggest match-up MMA has seen in its history.
The pair meet at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, home to where McGregor was stopped by Mayweather last August, with a stellar night of bouts scheduled for UFC 229.
With little under than three weeks to go until the big date, McGregor spoke alongside Khabib in their first press conference for the fight.
"Don't come at the king, don't ever come at the king," McGregor yelled at Khabib, who remained calm and quiet for the duration of the press conference.
McGregor spent much of the press conference animated and threatening Khabib.
"I am in a war state of mind," McGregor said at one point when asked how he had prepared himself. "That's how I'm getting ready. That's how I am getting ready".
The fight will be McGregor's first in two years and the first one since his arrest in New York over an incident in which he threw a metal dolly at a bus that Khabib was riding in Brooklyn.
McGregor said that he is thankful Khabib was a "coward" who did not get off of the bus then.
"I just thank the lord Jesus Christ that that man did not have the balls to step foot off that bus because trust me — or that the bus door did not open — because if that bus door had opened, I would not be here right now," McGregor said. "He would be in a box, and I would be in a cell".
The press conference is over now, but you can read along for the updates we sent along as the event was ongoing.
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Non-fighter Brett Favre has weighed in with a prediction for the fight, saying that Conor McGregor is his favourite to come out on top.
The famed NFL quarterback told TMZ Sports that he is pumped for the big fight, which has been billed as the biggest MMA fight ever.
"I gotta go with my guy, McGregor," he said. "I'm looking forward to it".
But, Favre recognised that anything could happen when the fighters take to one another: "In the UFC, you never know. You never know".
McGregor has gotten some love from the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Dana White.
Mr White said that, altogether, McGregor is the best UFC fighter around, according to a tweet from MMAFighting.com.
Ahead of the big fight, McGregor launched a new whiskey brand.
The new whiskey is helping a cause too, and has promised to donate $5 from the sale of every case on the first million in sales annually to first responder charities.
There is a little over 10 minutes until this press conference kicks off, and folks on Twitter are amped!
Loads of people are chiming in to show their support for the fighters, and hoping that things go off the rails a bit during today's event.
Stay tuned for more updates when this thing sets off.
The fight itself is drawing some incredible rates of interest.
There are already about 2.5 million subscriptions for the fight — and each one goes for $60.
Alright everyone, the press conference is about to start. Streams are live ahead of McGregor's return to the UFC, and we are just waiting for them to emerge in New York for the presser.
Should be a rowdy time.
McGregor likes to talk about his suits during these press conference. He likes to mention they are expensive and fancy. He once claimed three people had died making a gold pocket watch of his that he brought to a press conference.
Excited to see what he is wearing today in New York, and whether he lets us know how much it put him back to get the duds.
Seems as though the presser is a bit late. Stay tuned for the drama, though, it is coming soon.
If you have ever wondered how UFC came up with the octagon as their shape of set, here is an animated look at that process at the start of the whole shebang. Enjoy.
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