Last night in Las Vegas, viewers witnessed the main event recent years in the world of mixed martial arts. As part of the UFC 229 tournament in the fight for the championship title of the organization in lightweight the Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov and the Irishman McGregor met.

Nurmagomedov won an early victory. The Russian athlete in the fourth round applied a rear naked choke and forced McGregor to surrender.

Khabib managed to defend his champion title and remain an undefeated fighter. Now he has already won 27 fights and not a single defeat.

Such a fight, of course, could not do without a scandal. After the victory, Nurmagomedov, jumping out of the octagon, grappled with one of the members of McGregor's team, provoking a massive brawl. Police representatives were forced to intervene in the riots, and both fighters were taken out of the hall to a room under the stands, accompanied by guards.

The Irish Times notes that the Russian managed to achieve victory in a brutal style. “UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov finished off all attempts by Irish fighter Conor Magregor to regain the organization's championship belt.

The Russian in a brutal style forced his opponent to surrender, winning after pinching his neck, "the media writes.

"In fact, after the fight ended, the audience turned on the song of Yegor Creed and Khabib ran to beat the DJ,"

- explained on Twitter, attaching a photo of the 30-year-old UFC lightweight champion climbing over the bars.

You can find other news, materials and statistics on the page, as well as in the groups of the sports department in social networks

"Conor McGregor cried after losing to me." What was the first defeat of the most popular fighter in the UFC

UFC champion Conor McGregor makes $ 3.5 million per fight. Correspondent "Match TV" Alexander Lyutikov recorded the story of the Lithuanian fighter Artemiy Sitenkov, who in 2008, for a fee of 500 euros, inflicted the first defeat on McGregor.

600 grams, 500 euros, 400 spectators

Artemy Sitenkov was born in Vilnius in 1983. Mom is a teacher, father is a turner. At the age of seven, Artemy enrolled in the judo section. I wanted to do it myself. I dreamed of a black belt - I got it. I wanted to go to the Beijing Olympics - it didn't work out. He performed in sambo: he was fifth in the world in sports and second in combat. He started fighting in MMA, working in parallel in the Vilnius municipality. Responsible for public procurement, monitored compliance with the terms of tenders. Artemy himself calls that period simply: "He fought with pieces of paper." Sometimes he came to work with bruises and abrasions on his face, but no one noticed this - including the mayor of Vilnius, with whom Sitenkov shook hands. In the mid-2000s, weight categories were more easily treated, so the 61-kilogram Sitenkov in his second fight in MMA hit the most dangerous Lithuanian fighter of that time - 70-kilogram Remigijus Morkevicius, who had won six out of eight fights by knockouts before. “I didn’t have a manager at that time - and I was just exposed as meat,” says Artemy.

The manager appeared in 2007 - his name was Alfredas Lifsikas. Sounds solid if you don't know that Alfredas was 16 years old at the time. He was interested in fights, ran a thematic site - and began to fill the mailboxes of organizers of MMA tournaments in Europe with letters with a proposal to bring a fighter from Lithuania. Until Alfredas reached the age of majority, he traveled abroad under a guardian power of attorney, which his parents issued to Sitenkov. Now Lifsikas is the manager of UFC fighter Nikita Krylov.

“Abroad, we mainly need fighters to lose,” Sitenkov says. - And I'm just so thin, nondescript - they were not afraid to invite me. I had a tactic: when I won, I pretended that it happened by accident, so that they would call me later. And McGregor fell into the same mold. They were looking for a rival for him - and then my profile caught my eye: oh, poor Lithuanian, statistics on fights 5–4, let's call. And they called. Moreover, there was a cunning move: they said that I had to fly at my own expense, and after the battle they would pay me tickets.

- What's the trick?

- My weight was 61 kg, and the fight was planned in weight up to 66 - it did not bother me. But then miracles began. Before weighing in, I see McGregor, he is sweating, losing weight. He comes to the weigh-in and immediately says: "Other scales are needed." I still think so - why other scales? Well, okay - others bring. He stands on them: 67.8 kg. The overweight is almost two kilograms. She takes off her panties - 66.6. I thought so - do the panties weigh a kilogram? Some kind of nonsense. And they ask me: "He has an advantage of 600 grams, do you agree to fight?" No problem, I say. I can't refuse: I gave 200 euros for a ticket - and if I refuse, no one will return them to me. But that's not the whole story. When I got on these scales, they showed 59. And I knew for sure that my weight was 61 kg. That is, the scales were turned up to make it easier for the local fighter to fit into the weight. Honestly, I still do not understand why these scales showed one kilogram less when he stood on them a second time. Maybe they are loose and show different weight all the time - I don't know. Probably, if you write this, they won't really believe you, but I say how it was.

- In one of the Russian promotions, the scales show one and a half kilograms less. Only visiting fighters are not always warned about this. So your story will not surprise everyone.

- Well. And for me then it was a novelty. That is, even at the weigh-in, Conor was heavier than me by about eight kilograms - and this on condition that he was losing weight. And then he was so pleased, he said to everyone: "There will be a knockout, a knockout." And I immediately realized that he underestimated me.

- From the video it seems that you were fighting in some kind of hangar.

- In Ireland, all fights look like this. It was a very small local tournament. Perhaps 400 spectators or a little more gathered in the stands. The fight, of course, turned out to be fast. The knee lever is better than it: it is easier to pick up people from Western Europe... They mainly study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - and it is quite difficult for them to do something on the arm or on the neck, but their legs do not always protect well. And here sambists have a good opportunity to attack. When we fell to the ground, Conor was focused on preventing me from doing a submission on the arm. And I went to the knee lever.

- What happened after he surrendered?

- McGregor cried, the coach consoled him. After all, Conor was 19 years old at the time of the fight - in fact, yesterday's teenager. Then he fought a little mindlessly: he just ran out and beat everyone, won with knockouts. There was no particular strategy.

- How much did you get for that fight?

- Something around 500 euros. Plus, they compensated for the cost of tickets. There was no talk about revenge.

In 2008, the year he was defeated by Sitenkov, Conor McGregor quit his job as a plumber, began training twice a day and lived off the money from the fighting and a social security benefit of $ 235. A little more than seven years later, Conor will grow a beard, cover up with tattoos and start receiving $ 1 million for going out to the fight, excluding sponsorship contracts and interest on the sales of paid broadcasts.

Conor McGregor seven years after the defeat by Artemy Sitenkov

Ireland, demi-homeless, cell phones

At the time of the fight with McGregor, Artemy was officially unemployed. After leaving the municipality, he worked as a realtor, but soon realized that hired work was not for him.

- Yes, I was unemployed then, but this does not mean that I earned little. I continued to work in real estate, but for myself. At that time there was an economic upsurge in Lithuania, I was selling new houses - and this could make a lot of money. Roughly speaking, in the first month of his official unemployment he earned as in two years of hired work. And I realized that I didn't need to work for anyone. Truth, a good life did not last long.

- What's happened?

- When the crisis began in 2009, all my money was invested in a two-story house for two families, which I and my partners were building for sale. The builder with whom we worked did not meet the deadlines: if everything had been according to plan, then we would have had time to hand over this house before the crisis. But they did not have time: real estate prices collapsed. As a result, we successfully gave this unfinished house to the bank for a loan debt. I was left with nothing and started from scratch. I went to Ireland for a year - and it was the worst year of my life. 30 km from Dublin, I opened a martial arts hall with another person, I myself worked there as a coach. But in fact he was a semi-vagabond.

- The hall did not bring a lot of money?

- The hall did not bring money at all. I earned there 200 and sometimes 300 euros per month. About 150 euros, and sometimes more, I paid for room rent and utility bills. It was impossible to live on the remaining money. I remember I decided to find a job as a dishwasher. I made a resume - they don't call. I deleted from there that I was the director of a real estate agency - they started calling. I came for an interview and was sure that they would take me: there are Ukrainian waiters in this restaurant, and I know English, Russian, Polish and Lithuanian. But they didn’t take it - and then I even understood why. They need disenfranchised workers who can be easily and especially without the risk of being thrown into money. And for some reason I said that I am an athlete, I fight. This was probably embarrassing. But then I found one scheme for making money.

- Which one?

- I went to Dublin, bought mobile phones for shares and sent them to Lithuania - from one there was a profit of 30 euros. The difficulty was that the actions were held irregularly and only two phones were given to one person. I went to different salons, changed clothes, tried not to fall for the salesmen I knew, hired other Lithuanians, whom I paid 3 euros for a mobile phone they bought: in three hours they could earn about 50 euros.

- You have a flair for business.

- In fact, I am a very calm and primitive person. There is simply such a word - it is necessary. I had to find money for food, for life. And I found. When there were no promotions for the sale of mobile phones for a long time, a couple of times I undertook to scatter flyers in mailboxes - that's 50 euros a day. Dumb work, of course, but money was needed. And it was during this period that I lived only thanks to the battles. I fought, received a fee - and I had working capital in order to buy mobile phones.

- Was it such that you agreed to fight only because of the money?

- Once I was lying in bed after an illness, I received a call: "Do you want to fight with a Japanese in Macau?" - "Want". “Then you have to make it to the airport.” And from that moment on, I only remember how they changed vehicles: taxi to the airport, plane, transfer in Frankfurt, plane to Hong Kong, transfer to the ferry, ferry to Macau, transfer to the arena - the whole journey took at least eighteen hours. They bring me to the arena, I step on the scales - the opponent makes sure that I fit into the weight, and twenty minutes later we start a fight. This feeling was very strange: in fact, I was pulled out of bed and brought to the other side of the world to fight there. Lost, of course. But I agreed to this fight not because I wanted to win, but because I wanted to make money.

- Did you earn good money?

- In general, yes, only a little was deceived with a fee: the organizer gave $ 2,000 less than he promised. But I didn't lose very much, because I had to give a thousand of my fee to the person who offered me this option. I told him: "Take your share of those two thousand that I was not paid." There was another fight that I am pleased to remember. I beat this James Doolan, who at that time was much cooler than McGregor. It turned out beautifully: I did painful hold from the rack. Doolan was on his feet, I hung on him a little and went to the lever of the elbow.

But even with the fighting, living in Ireland sucked. You don't communicate much with Lithuanians, the Irish won't let you in - and it turns out that you don't have any socialization at all. There also began friction with a business partner, who said that it was because of me that the gym was not so successful. I shrugged: “You are probably right. Give me back the money that I invested in the gym. " He agreed, I went to Lithuania and then I learned that the hall was closed two months later.

- What did you do in Lithuania?

- I bought myself a Mazda - rusty, old. And he began to travel to Poland for mobile phones. Plus, give something somewhere, resell something somewhere, help someone. Rarely slept for more than four or five hours. And in three years I was able to save up for an apartment. Yes, it sounds like I'm some kind of huckster. But here's the moment. I am a civil servant by my first education and an economist by my second. I studied for four years, got into a suit, tightened my tie and went to earn something in the municipality for about 370 euros. Why and what did I study, if I spent four years studying and now I earn 370, but I could learn to stir cement, lay tiles and earn 1500 euros at a construction site? I can express everything with money and time. Everything. And when you think like that, you seem to become a little cynical, but the mind clears up. And you understand: why work in a supposedly prestigious job and walk in a suit and tie, when you can drive to Poland in a rusty car for mobile phones and earn more, even if you have to walk around dirty and itch. But when I was wearing a tie and earning 370 euros, all the neighbors said to my mother: "What a fine fellow, such a promising guy."

Heels in Vaseline, barbecue before weighing, how to grow up at 30

In 2012, Sitenkov won his last a resounding victory: Another Irishman surrendered from the knee lever - Neil Siri. Artemy became the first number in Europe in the weight category up to 57 kg and was expecting to be signed in the UFC. But those whom he defeated were signed there: MacGregor, Siri.

- You defeated McGregor in 69 seconds, Doolan in 34, Neil Siri in 55. And in the 30th second of the fight, you almost made a knee lever for another future UFC fighter, Patrick Holohan. How did it come about?

- It's just the beginning of the fight, the opponent has not yet had time to sweat - and it turns out to take a tight grip. And Holohana probably would have won if he hadn't been so slippery. I won't slander him, he is an excellent fighter, but in his place before a fight with a man who often wins with a knee lever, I would consider smearing his heels with Vaseline. No judge at this level would check the heels. But I won't complain. Lost and lost. At that time, I was the first number in Europe in weight up to 57 kg. But the second and third numbers from that ranking got into the UFC - Phil Harris and Neil Siri. And I stayed in Europe and had to fight one category harder, because in the weight up to 57 kg they could not organize a fight for me. Lost to Holohan, then to Haggstrom. And after that I realized that I would never get into the UFC in my life. Since then I have only fought for fun. The last fight in which I tried was against Petr Mengi two years ago. I lost to him by decision.

- After that, there were four more defeats in five battles. Didn't you try there?

- I will speak honestly: as a fighter I am now nothing. I wonder when I last time did a run.

- I'm interested too. Remember.

- About two years ago, I guess. I walk through the woods. I train the guys in the club, I fight with them. And this is more or less all the load that I receive. In battle, in fact, I have a minute while I am full of strength. And then I'll start to choke. During this minute I have to try to win, and if it doesn’t work out, then I, in fact, become a bag and I don’t pose a big threat.

- Why then are you fighting?

- For fun. This is a trip to another country, this is easy money that can be earned in two days. I know how to protect my head and how to avoid injury.

- Do you plan to perform like this for a long time?

- Oh. This is such a serious question. But I say: everything can be measured in money and time. How long am I ready to enter the ring and get paid for it? Until a ripe old age. I can also win if in the first minute I catch and drag someone to the ground.

- When you go to your profile, for example, on the site sherdog.com, do not you think that this page could have looked more beautiful if not for the battles in which you did not try?

- Absolutely honest - after I didn't get into the UFC, I don't care. Look. You would be told: here is a billion of money - and you will always go bald. Or half a billion - and you will always walk with dirty nails. Basically, this deal can be considered, right? And here it is the same. I earned a few thousand, and because of this, my page with statistics looks a little worse. Well, it doesn't upset me.

- What was the smallest fee you've ever fought for?

- 60 euros. It was in Lithuania - a long time ago, of course. For a fight in Lithuania in 2013, I received, it seems, 450 euros. And my biggest fight fee was at the level of the lowest fees in the UFC.

- Is the story with the scales and McGregor the only one of this kind? Or have you come across something similar?

- Sometimes it happens like this. The fight officially takes place, for example, in weight up to 57 kg, but both fighters agree not to lift the weight and eat barbecue together before weighing in. And then, at the weigh-in, they are told the required weight. And who does not know how to negotiate - sits hungry in the sauna and the last grams excess weight evaporates from itself. But everything is fair here.

- At least once have you faced doping control at tournaments in which you participated?

- I have never been checked. Nowhere and never. So if I wanted to dope, I would. But I didn't want to. That I am not doping is, in principle, understandable to everyone who saw me: I have always been thin, small and not to say that super-tolerant. Do not think that this is the rut of a person who was not taken in the UFC, I'm just sure: the vast majority of fighters there are on steroids. Only this dope high level... Growth hormone or some kind of course that is not monitored and changes parameters at the hormonal level. There is even visual evidence. There was a thin man - unrealistically overgrown with muscles. Someone had an enlarged jaw. There are people who, at the age of 30, suddenly begin to grow and grow by almost 10 cm - well, what nonsense, they are not teenagers. Yes, top-level fighters have two or three trainings a day, superhuman loads. I admire them. At the same time, I clearly understand that in almost all cases there is a place for doping. This is their choice.

- You yourself did not have the desire to gain mass in this way?

- No. What for? I won't need the liver later? I will need a liver. I want to be healthy, I want to live up to the moment when I will babysit my grandchildren. And then - I have never seen for myself the prospect of being only an MMA fighter. Yes, I wanted to get into the UFC. Yes, he could have won some fights there - including because of his non-standard and clumsy. But I understood that I would not live from this. Well, what does the UFC pay - $ 5,000 for the first fights? This is not the kind of money at all, considering the cost of preparation. For me, fighting has always been a hobby, as a way to survive, I considered them only during my life in Ireland. Now I have chosen a quieter hobby, almost retirement.

- What is it?

- I am a philobutonist - there is such an area of ​​collecting. I collect buttons, buttonholes, cockades. Today I bought a Polish buttonhole. The fireman's badge is also, most likely, Polish. Two Napoleonic buttons. Plus, I am partly a numismatist: I collect coins of tsarist Russia and adjacent territories - the same Poland. Lithuanian coins are all there. Basically, I can spend the entire fight fee on antiques. That is, one hobby covers the costs of another hobby. I have a German silver pen - from the days when Polish Gdansk was German Danzig. I want to restore - and write to her. I communicate with professors, I love history, I know the roots of my family. My grandfather and grandmother from my father's side came to Lithuania from the Novgorod region after the war. And my mother's roots are from Belarus - from the Ostrovets region, which either belonged to Russia or Poland. There were very big battles during the First World War. All this is very interesting to study.

- Have you ever talked to McGregor after your fight?

- Yes. When I lived in Ireland, we saw each other at competitions - he came up and greeted me. Conor is normal in communication. He worked as a plumber, a simple man. Looking at him now, I don't know - has he really become so frostbitten or is it playing on camera? I think he plays a role after all. By the way, he also mentioned me once in an interview. True, not very good.

- What did he say about you?

- "Skinny Lithuanian asshole."

Text: Alexander Lyutikov

Photo: Getty Images, instagram.com/thenotoriousmma

Khabib Nurmagomedov approached the fight in the status of a favorite for several reasons: the absence of a break in performances, which his counterpart had, zero in the “Defeats” column, and also a style that was extremely inconvenient for the opponent.

According to the fighter heavy weight Alexey Oleinik, the fight ended exactly as he expected.

“Conor could not do anything in the first round, Khabib just tortured him and weakened him. With any drummer, it’s like this - if you don’t allow him to do something at the beginning of the fight, later he becomes not so dangerous, ”Sport-Express quotes Oleinik.

Alexey Kunchenko, who made his debut in the UFC with a victory in the first, agreed with the opinion of his colleague. Russian tournament in the history of the promotion. He admitted that with the correct actions of Nurmagomedov at the end of the fight, McGregor should have looked noticeably tired.

“It happened even earlier, around the third round. And then Khabib finished the fight beautifully and ahead of schedule. It was nice to see our fighter win. He is a great fellow, we are proud ", - quotes Kunchenko" Championship ".

At the same time, the athlete expressed confidence that another fight between Nurmagomedov and McGregor would not take place.

“There will be no revenge. Khabib won unconditionally and ahead of schedule. It can only take place because of the financial component, but I don't think that Nurmagomedov needs this money. The point in it would be if the fight ended with a referee's decision. Conor is already a passed stage, the Russian put a big, fat point in this confrontation, "concluded Kunchenko.

At the same time, the winner of the UFC Grand Prix Oleg Taktarov expressed the opinion that McGregor had chances to complete the fight in his favor, but the Irishman failed to take advantage of them.

“There was a valid moment when Khabib walked with his jaw up. Then there was a chance. But, apparently, Nurmagomedov felt something, some kind of confidence. In the final movement, what was laid down in childhood worked. When Conor began to turn his back, I already knew that he would be strangled. Doing something like that at the end of a fight is a very energy-consuming thing, ”Sport24 quotes Taktarova.

According to the athlete, his departure to boxing played a key role in McGregor's defeat.

“If you paid attention, Fedor Emelianenko acted in films with us - then he lost, Rhonda Rousey did the same - was defeated. The transition to boxing takes away the wrestling breath, it is very difficult to restore it, ”the athlete noted.

But, sadly, the main topic of discussion was not the results of the fight, but the behavior of Nurmagomedov and his team at the end of the fight. So, Khabib climbed over the cage and started a fight with McGregor's wrestling coach Dillan Denis, and three members of his camp broke into the cage and attacked Conor.

Oleinik admitted that he “was ashamed of the behavior Russian athletes At the end of the main event of UFC 229.

• Highlights of the fight Nurmagomedov - McGregor

“Now this is being discussed more than the fight itself. What happened puts us in a negative light, ”Oleinik said.

He also noted that the UFC is upset by the behavior Russian champion.

“The act of Khabib darkened the positive ending. As a rule, after a fight, let alone a victorious one, they don't do that, ”added the heavyweight.

The legendary boxer Mike Tyson, who knows firsthand about such cases, also shared his impressions of the incident. So, one of his fights with Evander Holyfield ended in a massive fight between fans.

“I watched the fight McGregor - Nurmagomedov. It's just incredible. I never thought something like this would happen. This is crazier than what happened after my fight, "the boxer wrote on his page in social network Twitter.

Famous British boxer Tony Bellew also criticized Nurmagomedov's entourage. The future rival of the absolute world champion Alexander Usik is sure that the attack on McGregor after the fight is a flagrant act.

“Regardless of what it said, the two men with bare hands had no right to attack a man who had just fought for 20 minutes. One of them also attacked from behind. Khabib defeated and humiliated Conor. Isn't that enough? For what happened after, only one side is to blame - Nurmagomedov, ”Bellew wrote on Twitter.

Milky Kava, manager of legendary UFC fighter John Jones, is of the same opinion.

“You can say whatever you want about Conor. But he is always humble, whether he won or lost. He stood calmly while representatives of Khabib's team made their way into the cage and attacked him. It was crazy, ”says Kava.

Nurmagomedov himself was defended by his teammate Daniel Cormier, who was one of the first to try to calm Khabib after the scuffle outside the octagon.

“Guys, when people are wrong, you can't talk about who did the right thing. Conor didn't deserve that. But there are things that cannot be used to fuel interest in combat. Religion, family, country, bus attack in Brooklyn. For Khabib, all this was not an advertisement for a fight, he took it as a personal insult. We are just talking about people of different cultures. It's a pity ", - expressed his opinion UFC champion in two weight categories.

As Bellator fighter Patricio Freire noted, what happened after the fight does not negate the fact that Nurmagomedov had an amazing fight.

“You cannot deny that Khabib proved that he should not have been doubted. Conor fought well, both were real monsters. But Nurmagomedov turned out to be stronger, ”the athlete said.

Known for his shocking (sometimes disgusting) behavior on the eve of the battle, he is also known as a fighter who steadfastly survives defeat. The Irishman behaved in the highest degree with dignity after the defeat of Nate Diaz. He admitted that the opponent was better, and in a respectful tone asked the company for revenge. In it, Conor ultimately won.

UFC 229: Khabib Gets Conor Surrendered. How it was

After defeating McGregor, Nurmagomedov started a massive brawl in and out of the cage. Las Vegas scandal.

After losing to Floyd Jr. in the ring, McGregor also did not consider it necessary to return to mutual insults, recognizing Mayweather's superiority in skill and experience.

In the case of Khabib, there is still silence. Almost. Conor tweeted that the fight was good and it was time to ask for revenge.

In addition, McGregor decided not to file a complaint against Khabib's loved ones for attacking the already defeated Notorius in the midst of a mass brawl after UFC 229. Perhaps this means that Conor is only interested in the reprisal in the cage - and no compromises.

The Irishman was not just defeated last weekend - he was smeared, destroyed and taught a lesson. That is why he will definitely want to take revenge, and for the same reason, a satisfied Khabib does not have to agree to revenge.

What awaits Nurmagomedov after the battle of the century

Khabib is the main fighter of the planet. Choose him.

Much of this story will depend on the decision of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which will consider the incident with the brawl provoked by the side of Khabib, and on the demands of the Russian champion.
But what should Conor do if neither he nor the UFC can persuade Nurmagomedov for the second episode of this tiresome promotion?

Nate Diaz. Trilogy

An option that Conor will have while he and Nate are on a contract with the UFC. Regardless of the tournament layouts in the division, everyone is waiting for the outcome of the McGregor - Diaz confrontation. Their revenge in 2016 still holds the first line in UFC history in terms of paid streams sold. And Nate, on top of everything else, in theory, by the end of autumn, can take over the title in a new weight category- up to 165 pounds (74.8 kg), which will only add prestige to his third fight with Conor.

However, before talking about the culmination of Diaz Jr.'s confrontation with McGregor, it is necessary to wait for Nate's fight with the most dangerous Dustin Poirier at UFC 230. It is highly likely that after the November tournament, Diaz's third fight with McGregor will turn into a loser derby.

"Khabib ruined everything." The reaction of the foreign press to the scandalous battle

V Western media the bombing was no worse than that of the participants in the now legendary massacre.

Tony Ferguson. Noble risk

To organize this bout ufc can resort if Khabib is given too much disqualification. In this case, the company will most likely want to play the interim lightweight title (or full-fledged, if Nurmagomedov is also deprived of his status). McGregor's goal, as we have already understood, is Khabib. And if the UFC decides that Conor will have to deserve this fight, then Conor will be offered, no doubt, Tony Ferguson as rivals. And this is just a disaster.

I do not want the many fans of the Irishman to think that McGregor is not liked at the Championship. It is worth admitting, Conor, even with all the abomination he said, is worthy of respect for his contribution to the popularization of MMA. But frankly, his chances of beating Ferguson don't seem high. The more likely outcome of the meeting between Tony and Conor is the second consecutive brutal beating of the latter in front of the whole world.

"I need new haters." Khabib rested and began to speak

After the historic victory, Khabib began to be active on Instagram.

The American despises the Irishman with the same vehemence as his previous rival. It's just that Ferguson always fights aggressively. And judging by his performance at UFC 229, only the reigning champion can stop this car.

Boxing. Money

McGregor has options in other sports as well. It is likely that Conor's shares as a boxer fell somewhat with him in the second round of his last fight... Who could have expected Khabib to drop Conor in a stance? Judging by the confident actions of Nurmagomedov on his feet, only Oryol himself and his kickboxing coach Javier Mendes. Here the Russian and the AKA hall would like to stand to applaud. There are no holes in Khabib's "punch", otherwise he would have been cut on an equal footing with the best puncher in MMA.

And yet, Conor, if he wants, is able to knock himself out a good, money fight in the ring. Perhaps Mayweather would not mind earning another frantic check, practically without breaking a sweat. Or Paulie Malignaggi will finally achieve a duel with the Irishman who offended him. Yes and Manny Pacquiao, who challenged McGregor more than once, is still the acting star of boxing.

Whichever path Conor chooses for his return, one thing is clear - his star has not yet gone out. Yes, McGregor was smeared in front of the whole world, left him no chance. But even in a completely lost duel, Conor managed to show a lot. First, before the missed blow, the Irishman really managed to resist Khabib's fight. At least in the first round, McGregor showed good work in the ground from below, when he did not allow Nurmagomedov to work in his usual manner.

Secondly, it might seem that even after an extremely close to collapse situation in the second five-minute period, Conor managed to recover and later take the third round from Khabib. This means that his functionality has become better and the desire to go forward is still with him. Nobody expected this from McGregor.

He did not answer for the market. Khabib strangled Conor

It has never hurt McGregor so much. And further. It was the most scandalous fight in MMA.

So I just want to wish Conor to endure a hard defeat, learn a valuable lesson about manners and return as soon as possible - stronger than before. But not by a fight with Nurmagomedov. On the second try, Khabib can simply end his career.

At first there was mutual admiration, joint photos, promises of one to buy a T-shirt with the other's name and other curtsies on Twitter, but then everything changed. Khabib challenged Conor for several years in a row. I spoke to him before and during fights - with him and with UFC President Dana White. “Where is my belt? Give me Conor! " etc. The fighters swore on social networks, the same was done by members of their teams, there was a trash talk and numerous provocations, including a "hitting" in the hotel lobby on the Irishman Artyom Lobov from Conor's team, after which McGregor flew to the United States, where he jumped to New York, managed to attack a bus with Nurmagomedov right before the battle.

Nothing sells as well in combat as hate. Some say that she is killing sports, but in fact this is what has always made fighting mainstream. And if earlier Khabib needed not even McGregor, but his title, now all the accents have shifted, conflicts began to multiply, and storylines were woven into a shapeless ball, invaluable for promotion, which received a dream fight. True, the dream almost became a disaster.

A brief summary of this show: a massive brawl at the end of the fight, Khabib attacks coaching staff Irishman, jumping out of the cage, while Khabib's team attacks McGregor, who has not yet recovered from the choke hold. Everyone is separated by the police, someone is arrested, Khabib is refused to hand over the championship belt - the Irish in the hall are clearly going to crush everything here, and the guards are taking the fighters out of the hall one by one.

On the one hand, no one will say that it is boring. On the other hand, a really competitive and significant battle did not work out. Yes, and it could not work, just as one fighter who did not go to the octagon for two years, who did anything, but did not mixed martial arts, come back and be the same. Muhammad Ali has not been the same after a pause in fighting over the Vietnam story. Tyson did not regain all his skills after being released from prison. Two years without real fights, apart from such a carefully played show in a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, is too much. Everything had a destructive effect on combat skills Irishman, his reflexes and his sense of the moment.

A fighter must be hungry and angry, then he shows his maximum, then he is motivated and collected. Such was Khabib in this battle. Having dragged the opponent from the first seconds to the flooring of the cage, he solved two main problems - he deprived him of the very opportunity to fight in a standing position, where Conor was always good, and along the way took away his stamina and self-confidence. After two rounds, everything was a foregone conclusion. Nurmagomedov gave his opponent the opportunity to move and hit for the first time in a fight - and he could not show anything. There was no speed or power in his blows. A choke hold in the fourth round, when Khabib squeezed McGregor's jaw and forced him to knock in surrender - just the final point, a formality. Everything had already been decided earlier, both were well aware of this.

AP / TASS

And then a fight began. Dillon Danis, Conor's wrestling coach, shouted something to Khabib, who jumped over the fence and rushed at him. Khabib's manager rushed to help him. McGregor did not even have time to make a move in that direction, he was detained, but Khabib's team burst into the cage and attacked Conor. It all started as a war - and it ended with a war.

In modern combat mythology, Conor McGregor is like Loki: the hero is a trickster, half-mad, with a twisted sense of humor, always getting into trouble. The fight was for him both a gamble and an excellent opportunity to get back into business and make more money. Guaranteed $ 3 million (Khabib has 2 million), plus sponsorship payments, the ability to advertise his personal whiskey brand in battle, plus deductions from ticket sales (over 17 million) and a percentage of sold paid broadcasts (they say, not a record, but an impressive 1 , 5 million PPV). He handles his reputation as freely as Banksy does with his paintings - and now we see how a battle, for which a lot of money has been paid, slides down through a frame, cut into pieces by a shredder. The performance was a success.

And Khabib is an element. Different style, different super powers. Unbreakable forces of nature, ferocity and firmness. So, at least, everything looks like now.

His hat is mythologized as a "sweater of absolute victory" by Fedor Emelianenko. As a child, Nurmagomedov is said to have fought with a bear, and now, in the comics, he defeats Godzilla. If Khabib had been a villain in Gotham, Batman would not have lasted a day there. And now, while the Dagestani apologizes, saying that his father, of course, taught him something completely different, many are trying to figure out how to relate to what happened, and whether it is worth supporting Nurmagomedov further.

There was a public order for a riot, a holiday and a hat. There was no civil war. Therefore, the Athletic Commission, to which the UFC is not a decree, will now study the video of what happened and decide whether to suspend the fighter for a certain period, fine a part of the fee and, perhaps, take away the championship belt from him. The worst that can be is visa problems, which Habibu may well organize, everything else is just temporary difficulties.

For the public on this side of the ocean, too, it is clearly not easy now to sort out their feelings. Too many things converged at one point in time and space: sports, religion, politics - and it is no longer possible to perceive Nurmagomedov outside the context of all this. And the further, the more difficult it will be to explain to everyone that here only an ordinary homo sapiens beats another fellow in a cage, using his fighting skills and reflexes, and does it for money. Big fights reveal feelings and emotions, and those, in turn, highlight all the personality traits and all the convictions of the fighter. And then each viewer has his own opinion and his own reaction to what is happening. You can interpret what you see as you like, and marketing is inseparable from creative intention. It definitely brings fighting closer to contemporary art.

Artist Damien Hirst was rooting for McGregor before the fight. I wonder what is going on in his head now, and whether he plans to add alcohol along with sharks and cows to Khabib's hat. Will pull 12 million? Or 35?