Conor McGregor believes history won’t repeat itself if he takes on Khabib Nurmagomedov a second time.
Back in Oct. 2018, McGregor challenged Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight championship. The “Notorious” one hadn’t been inside the Octagon since Nov. 2016. Nurmagomedov ended up earning the fourth-round submission victory.
McGregor Says He Won’t Repeat Mistakes Against Khabib
McGregor had been adamant that he didn’t adequately prepare for his 2018 showdown with “The Eagle.” He doubled down on this belief during an interview with Bleacher Report.
“I will admit that the fight before UFC 246, I did not train properly and was not in perfect condition,” he said. “Call it what you want. I am hungry today. Hungry like a man who has not eaten for weeks. … When I set my mind to something, there is nothing I can not accomplish. It is that power of belief that makes up the winners.”
McGregor was asked if his failure to defeat Nurmagomedov boiled down to a flawed game plan or bad execution. The “Notorious” responded with the following.
“That is a very good question, and I will simply say I was not fully prepared,” McGregor said. “It proves that anything can happen in the fight game. You can trust that I will not make the same mistakes next time. I came out well, and in an instant, things changed. It’s as simple as that.”
McGregor returned to the Octagon in January. He took on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246 in Las Vegas. The former UFC “champ-champ” starched Cerrone in just 40 seconds via TKO.
In terms of getting back to the action, McGregor said fight fans can expect him back inside the Octagon soon. The “Notorious” one even said he expects to return to the boxing ring in the future. McGregor suffered a 10th-round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather back in Aug. 2017 in a boxing match.
