Joe Rogan on Conor McGregor: ‘He’s always going to have a problem with Khabib’

Conor McGregor will always have a problem with Khabib Nurmagomedov, according to Joe Rogan.

The UFC commentator and comedian invited Lex Fridman, an AI research scientist, onto his Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Monday to discuss an array of topics including autonomous cars and MMA.

Halfway through the podcast, Rogan and Fridman discussed how there are many good fighters with a variety of fighting styles to come out of Dagestan, such as Zabit Magomedsharipov. Fridman said the poetic nature of Dagestan fighters, and arguably their purist attitude towards fighting influences their ability.

Rogan says an example of this was the fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, where after the fight was finished, it was clear Khabib was fighting for honour instead of Instagram likes or fame.

However, both Rogan and his guest clearly disapproved of the post-fight antics whereby Khabib jumped over the Octagon fence and a fight between both teams ensued.

In contrast, Fridman believes McGregor has a certain level of honour in the way he carries himself after fights: that he’s respectful in both win and defeat. In fact, Lex Fridman believes Khabib disrespected Conor’s culture as much as Conor disrespected Khabib.

Many Joe Rogan fans were dumbfounded by Fridman’s comments that Khabib was equally disrespectful and left comments of disdain towards the scientist.

Joe Rogan said “He’s always going to have a problem with Khabib. Khabib’s wrestling is so high level, it’s so different, he smothers you in a way that you think you have good take down defence until you run into that motherf*****.”

One thing they both agreed on was that Conor McGregor wasn’t as ‘hungry’ for the win, because he has so much money, he doesn’t have the same level of drive as other UFC fighters. Despite his perceived lack of hunger, his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov and his alleged retirement at only 30 years of age, McGregor has enough time to dedicate to the sport and build a legacy if he puts distractions aside.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/8/2019.