10 Conor McGregor "What Ifs"

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor had the most controversial, distasteful and ashamedly interesting feud in MMA history. It was a fight driven by pure hatred of the other, as polar opposite people with very different lifestyles and beliefs.

It can be tough to pinpoint the catalyst that sparked the hate-filled feud, but the first shot can be located back to Khabib and his team attacking McGregor’s friend and training partner Artem Lobov when Lobov and Khabib were booked on the UFC 233 card. When McGregor saw the footage of the attack, he boarded a private jet to New York seeking revenge for his friend. Once in New York, McGregor and his mob attacked a bus that Khabib was on, with McGregor launching a metal trolley at him through the window, injuring several fighters.

Instead of punishing McGregor, the UFC used the situation as ammunition to build a mammoth fight between the two. The press conferences and interviews in the run-up to the bout held yet more controversy as McGregor repeatedly used derogatory remarks and phrases that seemed to be aimed at Khabib’s religion as a devout Muslim.

McGregor failed in his plight to defeat the Russian, losing via submission in the fourth round. As the fight was stopped, Khabib held onto the choke for a little longer, before jumping the Octagon to attack McGregor’s cornermen, most notably Dillon Danis, McGregor’s Jiu-Jitsu coach. A mass brawl ensued with members of Khabib’s team punching McGregor from behind and attacking him.

Unless the potential rematch becomes a reality, something which McGregor insists he wants to pursue, the UFC would like to forget this part of their history, which exposed McGregor’s dark side as he transitioned from loveable rogue to disillusioned celebrity who seemed drunk on the power garnered with his rise to fame.