After being submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, Conor McGregor has released a detailed breakdown of what went wrong — and says he’s open to fighting the next in line.
Conor McGregor has never been one to shy away from a loss (note his doggest pursuit of a rematch with Nate Diaz after the Stockton native defeated McGregor at UFC 196). It doesn’t appear that has changed following the second UFC loss of his career at UFC 229. Despite all the chaos that followed, there was actually a fight between McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov that night. One that Nurmagomedov won, decisively. The Dagestani, whose striking appeared underwhelming just months back against Al Iaquinta at UFC 223, even managed to knock McGregor down.
In a new statement posted to Instagram, McGregor (21-4) breaks down the loss, highlighting what he did right, and where things went wrong. Key among the mistakes made, McGregor revealed that “I gave his upright fighting no respect in preparation. No specific stand up spars whatsoever. Attacking grapplers/wrestlers only.” He added “that won’t happen again,” should the pair meet in a rematch.
Another crucial mistake, according to McGregor, came in round four. “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,” McGregor detailed. “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.”
While the Irish star has been pursuing a rematch with Nurmagomedov, it appears he’s aware he might not get it. And he’s open to facing the next contender. “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.”
You can read Conor McGregor’s full statement below.
