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Khabib Nurmagomedov Argues He Never Lost Third Round To Conor McGregor In UFC 229 Clash

Khabib Nurmagomedov Argues He Never Lost Third Round To Conor McGregor In UFC 229 Clash

UFC star Daniel Cormier asked lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov if he should have been awarded the third round against Conor McGregor.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

Khabib Nurmagomedov has insisted that he "smashed" Conor McGregor in the third round of their blockbuster fight and shouldn't have lost the round.

The 31-year-old undefeated Russian star clashed with his fierce rival in October 2018 at UFC 229 and successfully won by submission in the fourth round.

The official scorecards from their epic showdown had all three judges have Khabib going into the fourth round with a 29-27 lead.

But all three judges awarded the third round to McGregor 10-9 and Khabib is still not happy with the verdict handed down.

Speaking to close pal Daniel Cormier, Khabib claimed that in the third he stood with McGregor "for a reason" and shouldn't have lost the round.

"Third round, I stood with him for a reason," he said.

When 'DC' asked the lightweight championship if he should have won the third round, Khabib responded: "I smashed him."

During the third round of the fight, Khabib managed to land 15 significant strikes on his fierce rival in their fight.

But McGregor, who made his sensational UFC return last month, connected with a whopping 34 significant strikes on the champ.

Khabib recently launched a scathing attack on the 31-year-old Irish superstar and blasted him for facing Donald Cerrone in his return fight.

The 'Eagle' has also explained that the only reason fans want to see a rematch because they're most interested in seeing "drama" rather than the fight.

PA

PA

"I think people wanna see just continue what happened last time, they just wanna see drama," Khabib explained.

"If you asked people, 'Okay, guys, who gonna win, 99 per cent gonna say Khabib. He did the first time.'

"But people just wanna see big drama show only for this one. If we're talking about money, this is good.

"If we're talking about drama, this is good. If we're talking about real lightweight contender or real lightweight championship fight, this is not good.

"This is not real lightweight championship fight. But if we talk about drama and money, of course this is good."

Khabib will defend the lightweight championship on 18th April at UFC 249 against Tony Ferguson.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/PA

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