Khabib's camp rips into Conor McGregor over 'weak excuses'

Yahoo Sport Australia

23 October 2018 at 10:10 pm

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager has responded to an Instagram post from Conor McGregor explaining why he lost at UFC 229.

The fight between Khabib and McGregor might be over, but the war of words continues.

Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, kept the rivalry hot on Wednesday, ripping McGregor in a post on Instagram.

The whole exchange started after McGregor broke down his fight against Nurmagomedov in his own post on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

Thoughts on my last fight. Round 1. I believe from a sport standpoint, round 1 was his. Top position against the fence. Zero position advancement or damage inflicted. But top position. From a fight standpoint the first round is mine. Actual shots landed and a willingness to engage. Straight left early. Knee to the head on the low shot. Elbows in any and all tie up scenarios. Opponent just holding the legs against the fence for almost the entire round. Round 2 he is running away around the cage before being blessed with a right hand that changed the course of the round, and the fight. It was a nice shot. After the shot I bounced back up to engage instantly, but again he dipped under to disengage. That is the sport and it was a smart move that led to a dominant round, so no issue. Well played. If I stay switched on and give his stand up even a little more respect, that right hand never gets close and we are talking completely different now. I gave his upright fighting no respect in preparation. No specific stand up spars whatsoever. Attacking grapplers/wrestlers only. That won’t happen again. I also gave my attacking grappling no respect. To defense minded. Lessons. Listen to nobody but yourself on your skill set. You are the master of your own universe. I am the master of this. I must take my own advice. Round 3. After the worst round of my fighting career, I come back and win this round. Again walking forward, walking him down, and willing to engage. Round 4. My recovery was not where it could have been here. That is my fault. Although winning the early exchanges in 4, he dips under again and I end up in a bad position with over 3 on the clock. I work to regain position and end up upright, with my back to the fence. A stable position. Here however, I made a critical error of abandoning my over hook at this crucial time, exposing the back, and I end up beaten fair and square. What can I say? It was a great fight and it was my pleasure. I will be back with my confidence high. Fully prepared. If it is not the rematch right away, no problem. I will face the next in line. It’s all me always, anyway. See you soon my fighting fans I love you all ❤
A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Oct 22, 2018 at 9:11pm PDT

Abdelaziz felt compelled to respond to McGregor’s take on the bout.

Abdelaziz kicked things off by calling McGregor a “weak soul.”

Then, he launched into his rant, calling McGregor a “little child,” saying he “put your white flag in the middle of battle” and told McGregor to “go open a liquor store.”

1) When a man gets held against his will and listens to you gasp for air, hopeless on your back how do you win a fight? If this was a street fight you’d be done. You got out grappled and out wrestled, looking like a little child.
2) Second round – the wrestler/grappler out struck you and hit you with a K Bomb and put you on your ass, taken down and hit with missile strikes from the guard and getting smashed in front of your whole family & crew.
3) Khabib stood the whole round with you to make a point that you’re a front runner. If you can knock someone else you give up like you did 5 times in your fighting career. THEN YOU MENTIONED THIS IS ONLY BUSINESS YOU PUT YOUR WHITE FLAG IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE
4th round – God put mercy in Khabibs heart and decided to show the world you’re a tap machine and put on a neck crank that wasn’t even a choke. The proper technique is 2 on 1 try to peel the arm and defend the neck crank. You put your two hands on the ground and your hand only came up when you were ready to tap.

Abdelaziz finished the post by telling McGregor, “Just stfu and move on.”

All of that came in response to a post in which McGregor gave his play-by-play of his loss to Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.

McGregor wasn’t all that negative when talking about Nurmagomedov in the post. At times, he even complimented Nurmagomedov’s performance.

Khabib Nurmagomedov submits Conor McGregorat UFC 229. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Abdelaziz determined that was enough to warrant a scathing response.

The bad blood between McGregor and Abdelaziz extends far beyond a couple of Instagram posts.

In the lead-up to the fight, McGregor called Abdelaziz a “snitch terrorist rat.”

McGregor has expressed a desire to have a rematch with Nurmagomedov since the fight.

But if Abdelaziz’s post is to be believed, McGregor isn’t going to get that chance.

Chris Cwik – Yahoo Sports