Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals the “mistake” he made against Conor McGregor

Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed he made a mistake in his fight against Conor McGregor.

In the main event of UFC 229, Nurmagomedov and McGregor had their highly-anticipated fight. In the lead-up to the scrap, both men had intense trash-talk that involved their families and religion, among other things. But, after all the talking, they settled their differences inside the Octagon with Nurmagomedov winning by fourth-round submission.

However, now over two years after the fight, Nurmagomedov admitted he fought too emotionally and tried to hurt McGregor too much. He says fighting like that was not smart and impacted his performance.

“Yes, I tried to hurt this guy and it was my mistake. When you become angry, you’re tired. When I try to give him punishment, it was very emotional,” Nurmagomedov said to Din Thomas on Dana White’s Lookin’ For A Fight. “And I think no, no, no, I’m going to calm down now. But not this time.”

Since the fight, McGregor has claimed he wasn’t mentally prepared for that fight and knows in a rematch he beats Nurmagomedov. However, it is interesting to hear the champ say he didn’t fight his best given how dominant he was in that scrap.

Conor McGregor is set to return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC 257 against Dustin Poirier. It will be his first fight since he TKO’d Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246. If the Irishman can beat Poirier again, perhaps it will lead to another fight with Nurmagomedov.

Khabib Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, retired from the sport after he submitted Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. However, Dana White has made it clear he wants the lightweight champ to fight one more time and the McGregor rematch is always an option.

Do you think a rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor would go any different? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!