Khabib Nurmagomedov Claims Victory Over Conor McGregor Was The 'Only Win He Ever Enjoyed'

Khabib Nurmagomedov has admitted that his victory over fierce rival Conor McGregor was the only UFC fight he ever enjoyed to win.

The 31-year-old Dagestan superstar clashed with McGregor at UFC 229 in 2018 and successfully retained the UFC Lightweight Championship.

And Khabib, who defeated McGregor in the fourth round after locking in a devastating neck crank, said he found "pleasure" in beating the Irish MMA superstar.

"At the beginning, when you're just starting out and winning fights, it brings you some sort of pleasure. You enjoy it," the 'Eagle' said, speaking to RT.

"Recently, I haven't had that. In the last couple of years, I've gone out there and won and it doesn't bring me any real joy, to be honest.

"Well, with the exception of one fight, let's say. In that fight I beat that guy [Conor McGregor] with pleasure, I'll tell you.

"I had fights in my career where I understood that I could hurt my opponent more, but I'd talk to him, tell him to give up so that I don't beat him too hard.

"For example, if I had a painful hold where I could break something, I wouldn't tighten it all the way, it'd just fix it so that the opponent would tap out.

"Because I have no aim to hurt anyone in this sport. Yes, we compete in a very brutal combat sport, but it's never my goal to inflict a lot of pain on my opponent.

"If I understand that I'm winning, I don't aim to hurt someone bad. Well, except for one fight."

Khabib last fought in September against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 and successfully unified the lightweight division.

The UFC star, who boasts an unblemished record of 28 MMA wins, is scheduled to defend his championship against Tony Ferguson in April or May 2020.

But Khabib has continued to mess with McGregor, who announced his UFC comeback last month, by suggesting that he needs to win ten matches in a row to earn a rematch.

The lightweight champ has also fired out a not-so-subtle dig at McGregor over him controversially punching an old man in a pub and accusations of sexual assault.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor Mcgregor, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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