Irish superstar Conor McGregor has admitted that he 'favours' fierce rival Khabib Nurmagomedov to beat Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
The 32-year-old future UFC Hall of Famer, who announced his MMA retirement in June, famously clashed with Khabib in their blockbuster super-fight in 2018.
And McGregor suffered defeat on the night as the 'Eagle' locked in a neck-crank submission to claim victory in the fourth round in Las Vegas.
Advert
The 'Notorious' once again took a swipe at Khabib by insisting that he would be "trembling" against Gaethje and his opponent could "very well knock him out."
However, McGregor questioned Gaethje's grappling ability and claimed that Khabib would be in full control of the fight should he take him down early.
"He's going to be on the back foot from the bell," he said.
"Khabib's gonna be trembling in there -- like he always does. He's the most easily backed-up fighter in the game. Gaethje will know this and he'll get low in his stance.
Advert
"Gaethje's style is a style for getting in and beating that jab nice and low, and while Khabib's head is up high come in with a big shot and he can very well knock him out. He can very, very, very, very well knock him clean out.
"[Gaethje's] got good wrestling. Does he have grappling with his wrestling? I do not believe so. I believe if Khabib gets him down it could be over early [...]. I probably favour Khabib [...]."
Khabib, 32, has been out of the octagon since he defended and unified the lightweight championship against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 last September.
Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor Mcgregor, Justin Gaethje, Notorious, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, eagle, MMA