And we are underway. McGregor and Green, Ramago battle in play. McGregor lands early. Pressure right off the bat by Conor.
He's trying to force the shot out of Khabib with pressure. Instead of waiting for Khabib to come at him. Khabib got a hold of his ankles. He's got his leg. And what he's got to do is get his left leg over the back ankle of Khabib's right leg.
He needs to get that left, Conor needs the left leg behind the ankle of Khabib in order to stop this. And now he's got it. But a good defense by Conor, he's got the ankles.
As long as he stays on the ankle, he's good. He's doing a fantastic job of defending. Look at him spinning around.
Khabib looking to complete the takedown and he gets it. Man. Conor gets right up to the cage. Let's see if he can get back up to his feet.
It's one of the big questions. He's got his feet tied up. well look out good khabib has done a job of wrapping those two legs up together this is what he does to everybody he fights he crosses your legs and now if your legs can't get away then you can't get up you're pinned to the floor and he's done this better than anybody.
He elevates and straightens your legs out. And now what he's going to do is try to lift Conor's knees and legs higher than Conor's head so that he can't move. Conor's just got to stay calm and not use his energy because he's not taking damage here.
It feels like he's far better equipped to handle five rounds than he was when he left in 2016. Khabib does such a good job of wrapping those legs up. Extending them and wrapping them up so you can't get them out from under you. I've never seen anybody be able to straighten a leg out like that.
The way he hangs and he almost knee bars you by collecting your heel up. It's just different how he holds you there. Most people can get away when you do that. But when Khabib grabs your legs, he just keeps them.
Yeah, he's doing it again. Look at him pinch those legs together. He does it different. They cross every single time. He crosses them over each other.
He's just so good at squeezing. This is what you gotta do to Conor early, though. If you're Khabib, you have to do this early.
You can't try to give him all the rest he needs in the first couple rounds. That's when Conor's the most dangerous. A couple right hands have landed for Khabib.
His first strikes of the fight. McGregor trying to control his breathing. Ain't a big right hand there.
And what Conor's doing is he's trying to dig under hooks and stay in a ball so there's no hooks. So Conor, see how he's got over the top of Khabib's head or his arms? He needs to get in between the arms and legs of Khabib if he's going to get up.
He can't be on the outside of Khabib's arms here. Again, Khabib ties those legs up together. It's just tremendous how he does it.
And it's something that you see him do against every single guy he fights. They know what he wants to do. They can't stop him. He's got a different type of pressure from here. I think he's just extremely strong as well.
And now he's under the back of Conor, so that Conor can't get his hips underneath him. It's a lifetime of grappling. And you do have a referee in Herb Dean that is going to give Khabib every opportunity to work on the ground, especially when he has the legs trapped. Right now we're seeing Conor okay because he's not taking damage, so he's staying very calm so he doesn't waste his energy. But once he gets wore out from this grappling, then you're gonna start seeing Khabib posture up and start landing the big punches.
But he can't do it too soon because otherwise Conor will get away. He's got to play the squeeze game right now. Nice pass straight to half guard.
And now the pressure is just heavy here. You could tell he's extremely heavy. That left shoulder and the chin of Conor really help makes it minimal for Conor to be able to get to a hip. He does a tremendous job and he keeps you from being able to breathe.
Pressure on the chest and then the overwhelming sensation that he can continue to do this as long as he wants. And that is exhausting in and of itself. I love that he's just being patient though.
This is what you've got to do to Conor early. You can't be silly and try to pretend that you're going to give him space to stand up. You've got to smother him to try to take some of the wind out of his sails early so he's not so powerful. Take some of that pop away and then take some chances after that if you're Khabib.
And Conor can't... use too much explosive energy to try to get up without technique. If he does that, he knows he's going to burn himself out, and he knows if he can't stop Khabib, Khabib's going to be able to do this in the second, the third, the fourth, and then... How long can he keep him away from it?
Well, don't forget, Conor used literally no energy right now because he took no damage. He did get stuck on the floor, but he has no, so this second round he'll be fresh. Let's see what he does with it. Exactly the start that Khabib Nurmagomedov was looking for in round one.
Well, every mixed martial arts round begins on the feet. Let's see how it goes here early round two. Conor knows he can land that left whenever he wants, so that's what he's waiting for. He's waiting for that counter.
He's waiting to force Khabib to take a bad shot and then make him pay for it. That's what we're seeing here. Fires the knee up here to just miss.
Nasty right hand. And that's the problem with takedowns is they gain the respect for the striker. Your striking gets better if you force takedowns because you're thinking about the shot. And now the shot's set up from the overhand. It goes back and forth and that's what's made Nirmal Medak the best.
That right there. Wow! What an entry by Nurmagomedov and now he has McGregor up against the fence.
Four plus minutes with which to work. And this is what Khabib has done to everybody. If you stop his wrestling, then he's gonna punch you. Once you start getting punched, his wrestling opens back up. And that's why you need a threat.
grappling and striking mixed together but realistically the sharpness goes to Carter in the striking but the grappling is just so one-dimensional and so over triangle here he's got it up he's on top of them full now let's grab it by Connor get his guard back butterfly not full guard Khabib's all over him here. And McGregor exploded there to try to escape, nothing doing. 90 seconds gone by here, round two.
And the moral victory of Khabib landing that big right hand. He said he wanted to make Carter suffer. He also said he wanted to change his face.
It's one of the scariest things I've ever heard a person say about a fight. Well, not unlike Tony Ferguson, Khabib can go all day. Kiss. Landing from Nurmagomedov.
This fight unquestionably in the best shape of his life. Conor's talking to him. I can't hear what he's saying, but he's getting tagged. That's Khabib talking and he's not saying nice things.
Big elbow from the not appear to cut McGregor open. The power he generates from this ground and pound is just interesting. I don't understand because you can hear it landing over and over.
It's just ferocious. I mean, he's the best brand of power artist in the sport. Conor's getting lit up.
Conor's in serious, serious trouble. Oh, massive ground strikes here. Herb Dean watching closely.
Khabib is trying to smash his face. McGregor forced to just cover up. How many shots can one man take? Two minutes to go in the round.
And he's trying to win, he's trying to gas Khabib out, because he's taking shots, but they're not the worst shots you can take. He's covered up, it just doesn't look good. I don't think he's trying to gas Khabib out, I think he's getting smashed. I think it's a mixture of everything. I don't think he has...
He has a choice here. I don't think he's trying to gas him out. I think he's getting smashed. I agree, but you have no choice either. Illegal knee on the ground by Conor.
A knee to the head of a downed opponent. Can't interlock the toes in the fence. McGregor got away with that one, still doing it.
Herb Dean should be warning him there. He's going for a Kimura here. That is tight.
That looks like it's gonna get finished here, ladies and gentlemen, that's tight. Good defense. Why isn't he trying to get up?
Because he's exhausted and he's getting his face punched in. And I don't think he can. I just think Khabib is so much better on the ground that he's surprised. I agree. Hasn't gained one bit.
Now remember, we're dealing with the old rules here. Crowd goes bananas as McGregor gets upright, but for how long? He's taking some big, deep breaths. 30 seconds here in round two. Khabib can keep this pace for...
I don't believe Conor has a stoppage win in the UFC after the second round. That is correct. Conor hasn't had an answer at all for the grappling khabib in one bit. Jon Kavanaugh not wanting McGregor to chase.
We'll see if he can oblige. Kavanaugh said pressure to get your air back. You can get a little air if you pressure in the beginning.
And now Khabib's tired too, don't forget that. The striking, he's full of blood. With Volkar. Perhaps McGregor sensing that now. McGregor leaving for that big left hand.
Khabib used tons of energy on that ground and pound Joe. Tons. That was a crazy pace that last round. Well we did see him slow down considerably against Al Iaquinta in the later rounds. And now you're seeing Conor go at the body.
That's the same thing he did to Mendes. He waited two rounds and started teeping at the body. And then starts going up high.
There it is, there's a teep to the body. He's just trying to take there out of Khabib, letting Khabib wrestle himself out. It can go both ways.
Well, you hate to read too much into the body language, but this is as fatigued as I've seen Khabib Nurmagomedov in that octagon. I don't know if he looks fatigued to me. It doesn't look like he's breathing heavy. It looks like he's trying to find his moments, but he's getting outboxed. Yeah, I don't think he's tired.
I think he's just a little heavy from the grappling last round, but he's not tired per se. Muscles are full of blood so he's a little slower. And that's where Conor can use his left.
There's the shot. And that's what his coaches, that's what they were talking about. He stuffed that one.
Oh, elbow by Conor. That's what Kavanaugh was talking about. Said the first couple shots are gonna come heavy. Later on it won't be so heavy.
Big right hand by Khabib. Just over three minutes here in this third round. A little change from Khabib.
They stuffed that as well. Look at this. This is where it's getting interesting. Now the real question is, how much endurance does Conor have now? How much has he worked on his conditioning?
And how do you prepare for a guy like Nurmagomedov? Nice knee to the body by Conor. Those knees to the body really add up and so will the punches and the kick to each. Oh!
Uppercut! McGregor fakes. These guys are staring each other in the face right at time, no range at all.
They're just sitting there punching, exchanging. McGregor continues to bank that body work. Seeing Khabib standing right in front of Conor like this is crazy. I don't understand why he doesn't shoot, why he doesn't mix it up. He clipped him in the left hand.
He slapped him. He slapped him on that one. Front kick to the body by Conor.
He's pawing with that punch. Having a hard time getting that snap back. And Khabib standing right in front of perhaps the best striker in UFC history, McGregor to the body again.
Good left hand to the body there by Conor, another good knee. Khabib to the body, he doesn't seem to fear the power coming back from McGregor as yet. Trip by, and Romago-Madoff gets McGregor down briefly. Back up to his feet though, very interesting.
Slight edge in terms of the significant strikes in round 3 for Conor, less than a minute to go in the round. And you see how Conor's collecting the left arm of Khabib. That stops him from being able to connect his hands, and he can't double off or grab a single leg.
If you can't lock your hands together, you can't finish the takedown. So Conor's leaning against the fence and just controlling one arm. So what does Khabib do to counter that?
You gotta try to get a single... The best you can because you can't get a double as long as Conor's controlling your wrist. He's grabbing the glove there. You can't clasp your hands together.
The only thing you can do is keep the pressure like he's doing so you're not getting picked apart. But he's got his glove. He's got his glove underneath him.
He's just holding it so he can't complete the takedown. 15 minutes in the books, we head to the championship rounds. Round four. Watch the counter left hand of Conor, it's what he's been sent up.
He's waiting for the right hand of Khabib. Conor looks very good coming out for this fourth round. I swear, I think this is what he was looking to try to get him, wait for Khabib to get a little tired on the takedowns and look to knock him out later. You would think it'd be the other way around though.
Second time for both of these fighters to have seen a fourth round in their careers. That jabbing front kick to the body. He used that fantastically against Chad Mendes.
And he's using it here again tonight. There it is again. I'm so worried about the power in his hands that sometimes you forget about his legs. Good entry by Nermago, Maddow McGregor trying to use the fence to his advantage. And he gets tripped right down.
Too good. He does such a good job of using his legs to wrap up your legs. But Conor's back up to his feet almost.
And this is where Khabib really starts to get ahead from this position. Once he gets here, he doesn't let go of that grip. And he goes back and forth between the double, and he wears you out by putting all that pressure on your arms like that.
Makes you carry his weight up against the fence. He's done this time and time again, and when you try to stand up without hand control, he throws you. Another warning from Herb Dean for a fence grab there. His grappling is just one step ahead.
Just tremendous control on the ground. Four of seven on the takedowns for Numago Mehta. But it's what he does with them.
Two minutes have gone by here in round four. Got an arm triangle almost, but Conor got his other, weaseled his other arm in there. It's in there, but it's still, the fact that he can pin the head against the arm is just, it's a big part of securing that.
If he can control that now, he stepped the arm over. But now Conor regained that arm. The one thing Conor has done is stayed.
Pretty safe. He just getting controlled very badly is the only difference. Good hip escape there by Conor.
Needs to keep going if he has the energy. But again, Khabib uses those legs to tie his legs up. I mean, it's a big part of his grappling.
It's not just grappling with his arms, but utilizing his legs for control. Fans from Nurmagomedov. Again, full mount, back mount. There's the choke. He's got it, it's under the neck.
There it is. Nope, it's on the chin. There's the tap!
Sputed! Khabib Nurmagomedov! Finished Conor McGregor tonight! Look at him.
Look at him screaming at the corner. He's screaming at Dylan Danis. Conor McGregor, Jiu-Jitsu coach. Ladies and gentlemen, referee Herd Dean has called a stop to this contest at three minutes, three seconds of the fourth round.
Declaring the winner by submission due to a rear naked choke, and still the undisputed UFC lightweight champion of the world, Habib, the Eagle, Nurmagomed! Get on!