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The rivalry between current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former title holder Conor McGregor is particularly juicy and marks Saturday's highlight in their grudge match against UFC 229 at Las Vegas.
From a felony attack on a bus to a fierce war of words that followed, this fiery feud was one of the most intense in the history of the UFC and will produce a fight for the 155-pound title that is already considered the biggest pay-per-see sport has ever seen.
Let's go back to how we got here in a chronology of events that produced Saturday's fight.
September 9, 2014: The first known public interaction between McGregor and Nurmagomedov seemed to describe them as mutually friendly friendly knowledge, as seems to indicate this exchange on Twitter. The fact that both fighters are planning a training session together, including a clash of the UFC's social team to get noticed, seems almost bizarre four years later.
September 28, 2014: One day after Dustin Poirier's sensational TKO in the first round of McGregor during their featherweight fight against UFC 178 in Las Vegas, Nurmagomedov enthusiastically posted a photo of the two behind-the-scenes meetings at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. McGregor replied to the tweet the next day saying, "I love it, champion !! The Russian bear !!" At the time, Nurmagomedov was only five months away from a decisive victory over the future lightweight champion, Rafael dos Anjos, but he would miss two full years because of 39. a knee injury.
December 10, 2015: Two days before McGregor, then acting featherweight holder of the UFC, knocked out champion Jose Aldo to unify the titles at UFC 194 in Las Vegas, the rash Irishman's addressed to fans and the media during the final press conference. When asked if he planned to shift to light weight if he beat Aldo, McGregor replied "yes" and also said which hunter he was targeting by saying, "I think Khabib [Nurmagomedov] will get the light belt. "The comment was a bit interesting to prefigure from" Mystic Mac. "
January 5, 2016: As McGregor began to gain weight for a lightweight title against Anjos backs, Nurmagomedov showed the first sign of discomfort between the two fighters during an interview with ArabsMMA. Considering that he had beaten the GDR in a solid way before his wounds marginalized him for two years, Nurmagomedov was visibly displeased at the thought that McGregor was seizing his chance. "I think Conor is a good fighter but he thinks he can come into the lightweight division and have a chance to fight, he's delusional," Nurmagomedov said. "I'm the worst confrontation for him at the UFC, that's why he's trying to fight and fight RDA now, he wants to avoid fighting." "He comes to light weight and gets beat me, I welcome him. " . "
March 5, 2016: McGregor lost his goal in the title race against UFC 196, two weeks earlier, when Anjos' back was injured at the foot. Instead of reprogramming the fight, McGregor boldly agreed to a last-minute fight against welterweight Nate Diaz. After dominating the first round and bloodied Diaz's eye, McGregor ran out of gas and was submitted a few minutes later. The result wreaked havoc in the featherweight division as McGregor, barely three months into the win, would never defend him, as he continued to fight for huge sums.
April 16, 2016: Nurmagomedov returned successfully after a second round win over Tarraco Darrell Horcher at the late replacement of UFC on Fox in Tampa, Florida. Horcher replaced Tony Ferguson, injured. It was the second time that a combat project against Nurmagomedov was canceled. After the fight, Nurmagomedov challenged the return of Anjos but said that the summer was out of the question while he was observing Ramadan as part of his Muslim religion. McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, then responded on Twitter with an insensitive remark about the religion that naturally brought a warning from Nurmagomedov.
April 19, 2016: A month after McGregor agreed to fight against Diaz in the UFC 200, the Irish man almost shut down the Internet. One day, he refused to travel from Iceland to Las Vegas for a press conference before briefly retiring from the sport on Twitter.
April 21, 2016: As the UFC struggled to produce a new big event for the UFC 200 after McGregor's withdrawal by Dana White, Nurmagomedov told Match TV that the spot was offered to him. "Yesterday, the UFC called me with a proposal to stage the main fight of the night against Nate Diaz or against Georges St. Pierre," Khabib said. "They hope I'm going to fight, but it's four days after the month of Ramadan and it would be physically difficult to fight five rounds, I'll be back in September and October." White quickly countered Nurmagomedov's revelation by saying to MMAJunkie: "To my knowledge, this is completely inaccurate, I was not at this meeting."
August 16, 2016: After a $ 4 billion sale in July, Anjos' back was dethroned by knockout by former Bellator champion, Eddie Alvarez, and Diaz-McGregor II was re-assigned to UFC 202 Alvarez started campaigning for a lightweight title defense. against the winner of Diaz-McGregor, who drew the wrath of Nurmagomedov whose appetite for the title has not stopped growing. "The Eagle" let out that frustration with a McGregor tweet saying that Alvarez 's fight was his.
August 20, 2016: McGregor survived Diaz via a majority decision during their rematch on UFC 202 in Las Vegas. The five-round classic was immediately hailed as one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport. Despite McGregor's comments following his preference for the lightweight title, White chose not to deprive him of his 145-pound title.
September 19, 2016: Nurmagomedov's anger only made the rumors of a fight between Alvarez and McGregor worse. The native of Russia told ESPN's "Five Rounds" podcast that the idea that UFC would give McGregor a slight title shot is "bullshit # 1" as he is a champion in a lower weight category. "I deserve it, I'm ranked first," Nurmagomedov said. "Why does the UFC put me in the front row if he does not want to give me the title? Why does he rank it? They can not give him the title because he doesn? is never beaten with the best players, like the top 5, the top 10 in the lightweight division, and they want to give it the title shot? "
September 20, 2016: While Alvarez was blocking negotiations with McGregor by asking for more money, White had sent a curious tweet three days earlier in response to a fan by denying Alvarez-McGregor's rumors, claiming that Nurmagomedov would get the main slot of the UFC 205 event in November.
September 27, 2016: After the UFC announced that McGregor was going to challenge Alvarez at the main event of the company's first show at Madison Square Garden in New York, Nurmagomedov went on Twitter for crying that he had been used as a bargaining pawn.
October 5, 2016: A week after Nurmagomedov accepted his fight against UFC 205 against Michael Johnson, he appeared in "The Luke Thomas Show" on SiriusXM and clearly threatened the UFC that it would happen there. did not shoot the title in his next fight. "If I do not fight, I will show how I have power in Russia," Nurmagomedov said. "I never fight at the UFC and the UFC never goes to Russia. Because the UFC thinks that Conor has power? I also have the power. J & # I have power too.This is not just about pay-per-view, I have the power, too, I'll show that power. "
November 11, 2016: After weighing ceremony at Madison Square Garden before UFC 205, Nurmagomedov and McGregor had to be separated after a brief conversation. Curiously, the incident was about the mid-point of a four-year trip: the two fighters posed as a photo behind the scenes of UFC 178 until the UFC 229 clash at biggest fight in the history of the company.
November 12, 2016: McGregor stopped Alvarez via the second round of TKO to become the first UFC fighter to hold two titles simultaneously. After a series of four pay-per-view sessions in 12 months, McGregor also spoke of the need to have at least six months off to support the pregnancy of his girlfriend Dee Deviln, who was to give birth to their first child, Conor Jack McGregor. Jr., in May of the following year. McGregor left MSG that night telling reporters that he would need a piece of property from the UFC to consider returning to Octagon.
On the lower card of the PPV, Nurmagomedov performed his own memorable performance by completely dominating Johnson after being shaken in the first round. Late in the fight, while White was watching Cageside, Nurmagomedov stopped to say to the UFC president: "Do not send me your fake contract any more, I need a real contract. . You already know that I deserve it. send a real contract and I will finish this fight. "Moments later, Nurmagomedov ended the fight through his submission.After the fight, Nurmagomedov made a promo to McGregor during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan in the cage. , proposing a fight in Russia stating, "I want to fight against your chicken."
January 12, 2017: While McGregor remained inactive in the championship, UFC staged a fight for the interim title at 155 pounds between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson for the month of March. The long-awaited showdown marked the third time the promotion was trying to fight.
January 28, 2017: While McGregor and retired boxing star Floyd Mayweather were doing their best to keep the conversation in the media, the idea of a boxing match between boxers and boxers began to move from fantasy to reality. Asked about the fight led by TMZ Sports, Nurmagomedov said he was "the Floyd Mayweather of the MMA" and recalled his hunches to face McGregor for the lightweight title on his return. "Conor has to be careful because I'm going to crush Tony Ferguson and after that, I'm going to crush Conor McGregor," Nurmagomedov said. "I think that after this one, people will start to forget this guy."
March 3, 2017: One day before Nurmagomedov's long journey to a UFC title was supposed to take place in Las Vegas, he was hospitalized due to a difficult weight reduction and missed weighing against Ferguson. Their fight with UFC 209 was canceled that day and Ferguson then submitted Kevin Lee seven months later to win the interim lightweight title at UFC 216. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov was dismissed from the rest of the year because of Ramadan and back surgery.
June 29, 2017: Two weeks after the announcement of a Mayweather-McGregor boxing match for August, White began to convey the message that McGregor was considering a return to the UFC later in the year. "You know what Conor said to me? He said, 'I want Khabib in Russia,'" White told MMAJunkie. "Is not it great? It's like:" I want Khabib, Russia. "Conor McGregor is a fierce unicorn, nothing like him, he works at Floyd Mayweather boxing and then talk about the fight against Khabib in Russia right after. "
July 15, 2017: While meeting with reporters in London during the last stop of an international press tour in four cities with Mayweather, Mr. McGregor did not want to pledge for a return from the UFC in 2017, but he said that his choices for the next opponent depended on Diaz and Nurmagomedov. "There are a few in the mix," McGregor said. "Some of them, however, need to pull themselves together, to generate interest and to interest me. [Fighting Nurmagomedov in Russia] is definitely one of the things I would like to do. Whether it's next, I do not know. I do not even know how close Russia is [or] if Khabib can pull his shit together. He missed weight. "
August 26, 2017: McGregor lost his professional boxing debut via TKO in the 10th round when Mayweather stopped the exhausted UFC champion on his feet. Although his performance exceeded the expectations of his critics, the $ 100 million reported by McGregor began fueling speculation against which he could never fight at the UFC. The Battle of Mayweather generated 4.4 million VPP purchases and helped UFC, according to White, achieve its largest fiscal year in its history, despite the decline in PPV numbers due to the absence of McGregor and Ronda Rousey.
December 28, 2017: Two days before his comeback against Edson Barboza in Las Vegas, Nurmagomedov revealed that White promised him a victory in the title. Frustrated by his endless quest for the title, Nurmagomedov also confirmed his intention to reduce his weight to 145 pounds to face Max Holloway, the new featherweight champion. Nurmagomedov asked MMAFighting why he was no longer looking for a fight against McGregor. "To be honest, I do not think it'll ever come back, but maybe if the money is there." It's a smart business man and maybe that's Is 50/50 do not think of him. "
December 30, 2017: Nurmagomedov returned from an 11-month absence to give Barboza one of the most violent and unbalanced defeats in a fight that lasted three rounds. The victory at UFC 219 once again announced Nurmagomedov as a major threat to the lightweight crown, while the future of champion McGregor remained unknown.
January 1, 2018: Two days after Nurmagomedov's victory, McGregor expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance in a series of tweets. "This Daghestan was a dog shit the other night" McGregor wrote. "You're all crazy, a lot of tramps asking to be asleep, pay me my value and the Kings at the back, really really kneel down and beg, otherwise I do not give bollox." the whiskey came out this year and that's Diddy's bread.And that's Diddy bread over the already Diddy bread.Now, take out your Diddy and beseech it. "Nurmagomedov answered by typing "Shut up #tapMashine" before posting a photo of himself riding a bear while pursuing McGregor in an open field.
January 29, 2018: After being engaged for a fourth time against Ferguson, this time for the lightweight title in April at UFC 223, Nurmagomedov promised to make McGregor wait until he tried to regain his next title. "[McGregor] Nurmagomedov told RT Sport: "But God willing, when I beat Tony Ferguson, I'll make him humble, and he has to stay in line, anyone who wants to fight for the title at 155, [he says], & # 39; in no way. & # 39; When I become UFC light weight champion, I will say: "Who is the real contender?" Who has a series of five, six, seven consecutive wins? They have to fight for the title – not [McGregor]. "
April 1, 2018: The fourth time, it was not his charm, because Ferguson suffered a serious knee injury while working in a television studio to promote his fight with Nurmagomedov. As the UFC suddenly struggled to find a new opponent, Nurmagomedov made a public appeal to McGregor.
April 2, 2018: After Holloway agreed to increase his weight and with only six days notice in order to save the main event of UFC 223, Nurmagomedov told TMZ Sports McGregor has officially declined the offer of the UFC to face him. "My first option when Tony came out, I say," Hey, where's Conor? I need Conor. He is champion. Take this guy, "said Nurmagomedov." When a UFC call [Conor]he said, "Oh, I'm not ready," McGregor immediately responded on Twitter, saying, "These fools have done more nonsense than me with my d —. "
April 3, 2018: The folly of UFC 223 only continued in the hotel hunters in Brooklyn, New York, when a furious Nurmagomedov stuck his team mate McGregor, Artem Lobov, in response to a video on social media in which Lobov called him "p —-" to be removed fights due to an injury. In an altercation filmed by a camera, Nurmagomedov said angrily (in Russian, with the kind permission of MMA Focus): "Do not say my name, do you understand me, you have it or not? ask you, tell my you said I'm a cat After Lobov twice denied making these comments, Nurmagomedov concluded by saying, "How did you not say it? Say it in front. You said I'm a cat, is not it? How did you not say? Do not say such things anymore. "Nurmagomedov then slapped him at the back of his head before leaving.
April 5, 2018: After jumping on his private plane from Ireland, McGregor and a wide entourage took part in the media day at Barclays Center, just two days before UFC 223 to face Nurmagomedov. McGregor then maniacally attacked a bus in the loading dock filled with fighters and UFC members by throwing a cart through a window and prevented from doing the same with a guardrail and trash bin. The broken glass wounded fighters Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa (as well as a UFC employee) and resulted in the adjustment or cancellation of four UFC 223 fights (including that of Lobov after he was arrested for joining McGregor's entourage). The female straw weight champion, Rose Namajunas, nearly pulled out of her co-hand ordeal due to emotional distress, which she claims she still suffers as a result of the injury. attack.
The attack was captured by UFC Embedded cameras and later used as a key promotional video for Saturday's fight. The same cameras interviewed Nurmagomedov, surprisingly calm, as he was getting off the bus. "Just tell me where, where and what's all," he says about McGregor. "Why do you need to come here and present yourself as if you wanted to fight or something like that? Send a message … without security, without UFC, without anything. Just send me a message and let me where and when. " McGregor enlisted in the police later in the day and was charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal wrongdoing.
April 6, 2018: McGregor appears handcuffed in a Brooklyn courtroom and has been brought to justice for Nurmagomedov's attack. He was released on bail of $ 50,000, which was mailed by teammate Dillon Danis, and a judge ruled that he was allowed to leave the country before the date of the court hearing. June 14th. His McGregor teammate, Cian Cowley, was also charged with a charge of assault and a criminal misdemeanor for his role, with a $ 25,000 bail.
April 7, 2018: After a few disastrous days in which Holloway was declared medically unable to cope with Nurmagomedov due to a difficult weight cut and a light weight, Paul Felder found himself ineligible to fight for the title as a a fighter not ranked by the New York commission, Nurmagomedov won the vacant UFC lightweight title that was stripped of McGregor by winning a decision on Al Iaquinta.
After the fight, Nurmagomedov told reporters at the press conference that a fight against McGregor was to take place. "We have to finish this ox," he said. "You want to fight, come in. I'm going to make you humble, just send me the place, now one champion, no more fake champions, you want to fight, come here, inside or out. on the outside of the cage, let me know, without a camera or media, like men, send me the location. "
White, who two days earlier described McGregor's action as "the most disgusting thing in the UFC's history," also spoke at the press conference. 39 after UFC 223 and surprisingly began to soften his position by saying that he had spoken to McGregor. "mutual respect" between them. Whites also began to downplay the attack in a move that led many to think that a Nurmagomedov-McGregor fight was imminent. "In the end, there is a lot worse in every other sport," said White. "So I'm going to have a dolly through a window every day."
May 26, 2018: At a press conference in Liverpool, England, following Darren Till's victory over Stephen Thompson at the UFC Fight Night, White began heading for Nurmagomedov-McGregor and became a reality. "Conor and I are going to meet in Las Vegas," said White. "I'm pretty confident [a lightweight title fight] It's a fight that Conor wants, and I'm pretty confident it's a fight Khabib wants. So yes, I could see that happen. "
June 14, 2018: McGregor briefly appeared in a Brooklyn court and began the plea bargaining process to resolve the problem quickly. He also expressed his remorse for the attack by informing the press from the outside: "I regret the acts that have brought me here today, I understand the seriousness of this case and I hope the problem will be solved quickly. "
July 5, 2018: Just days before UFC 226 in Las Vegas, White officially revealed that McGregor would not be sanctioned by the UFC for his actions during the attack on the bus carrying Nurmagomedov. "No, everything that happens to him in court will happen," White told Yahoo Sports. "And let me tell you what, it has been financially penalized.This is going to cost a lot of money to Conor.It 's been on the shelf for a while now, and will stay so for a longer time. if it is finished, there is nothing more that I can do to him than what has been done to him by law. "
July 15, 2018: Less than two weeks before his final appearance date, McGregor made a startling appearance on social media during the final of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nurmagomedov was also in the stadium at that time and published a picture of himself, even though the two did not meet. Nurmagomedov would then announce to reporters that he was not interested in a street fight.
July 26, 2018: McGregor avoids prison sentences by pleading guilty of disorderly conduct for his role in the Brooklyn attack. Due to the plea agreement, McGregor's violation would not result in a criminal record, nor would it affect his immigrant status. He was sentenced to serve five days of community service, participate in an anger management program and pay for the damage. "I just want to say that I am grateful to the prosecutor and the judge for allowing me to move forward," McGregor said outside the hearing room. "I just want to say to my family and friends, thank you for your support."
July 28, 2018: While McGregor was allowed to return to the Octagon as a result of his legal proceedings, Nurmagomedov appeared in front of reporters at the UFC Fight Night Card in Calgary. "I can not believe we're going to fight because I really want this guy, make him humble, teach him a little bit." [I want to] not only break but change his face, to change his face. With the face, I can change my mind and that's what I want. "
July 31, 2018: During a brief stay in New York, McGregor was interviewed by TMZ Sports about negotiations for a Nurmagomedov fight. "It's not official, but we're close," McGregor said.
August 3, 2018: A day before UFC 227 in Los Angeles, White went to the podium for a press conference on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the UFC, during which he announced much of the fall fighting program, presented by Diaz and Poirier at UFC 230 in New York. When asked if a Nurmagomedov-McGregor fight was close, White deliberately lied and said no. He then closed the press conference by launching on the video a surprise revealing that Nurmagomedov and McGregor were reserved for UFC 229 in Las Vegas. Irritated by what he thought was a lack of respect, Nate Diaz came out of the theater during the video and on the outside, he told reporters that he would not fight on November 3 ( although he changed his tone).
September 5, 2018: During a particularly calm month as the two fighters began their training camp and abstained from public speaking, McGregor began taunting Nurmagomedov on social media, including a caption for a photo of himself: "If he dies, he dies, and then I get paid twice."
September 20, 2018: Meeting face to face for the first time since the McGregor bus attack on April 5, the two fighters shared the same scene at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for the only press conference preceding the fight. Unilateral events and intense threats dominated this nearly 45-minute event, which took place on the stage of the theater in front of a small media group and an empty audience behind them, due to White's decision Ban the public from attending demonstrations for security reasons. . While the fighters avoided physical contact, the intensity between them was real, McGregor saying to Nurmagomedov: "If you got off that bus, you'd be dead." White continued to call it the "darkest" press conference from which he had been separated.
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