Manager explains how Khabib Nurmagomedov reacted during Conor McGregor bus attack

Arguably the most intense moment of the longstanding rivalry between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor occurred in early 2018, when McGregor ambushed a shuttle bus carrying the Russian, and threw a dolly through the bus’s window.

This wild attack from Conor McGregor and his cohorts left several fighters on the bus with physical injuries, and several others with lingering psychological issues.

According to manager Ali Abdelaziz, however, Khabib Nurmagomedov was cool as a cucumber throughout the whole, frenzied ordeal.

“The first thing I wanted to do, I want to jump out the bus,” Abdelaziz explained on Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson (via MMA Junkie). “And Khabib was sitting, smiling. I was so angry, because I felt like we were getting ambushed by like 20, 30 guys. I want to jump out the bus, but Ilir Latifi grabbed me. He’s a light heavyweight. I really wanted to get out the bus, because I don’t like to be in a box while people trying to kill you. You understand?

While Ali Abdelaziz made it clear he wanted to get off the bus and tangle with Conor McGregor, he says Khabib Nurmagomedov played a role in calming him down.

“Khabib said, ‘Hey, relax. If gangsters come, they don’t bring video cameras.’ Because when Conor come, he brought all his crony little dudes, but they have video cameras,” the manager explained. “(Khabib) said, ‘Real gangsters don’t bring video cameras.’ He was sitting. He didn’t get up. Khabib was smiling. When all this stuff was going on, he didn’t get up.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor finally got the chance to settle their longstanding rivalry at UFC 229 in early October of 2018. On that night, Nurmagomedov came out on top via fourth-round submission. Since then, McGregor has been vocal about his desire for a rematch.

“He won the match – let’s see what happens next time,” the Irish star recently told Tony Robbins. “I’m confident we’ll get it again, let’s go again.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/26/2019.