Michael Bisping: Conor McGregor ‘gave up’ against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229

Last Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 229, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor returned to the Octagon after two long years away, as he attempted to reclaim the UFC lightweight belt from undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Unfortunately for McGregor and his legions of fans, this mission didn’t go as planned.

Instead, the Irish MMA star was soundly walloped en route to a fourth-round submission loss. Just like that, his hopes of reclaiming one of his two UFC titles were dashed.

Interestingly, there’s been some debate as to what kind of submission Khabib Nurmagomedov actually used to coax out Conor McGregor’s tap. Some are calling it a rear-naked choke, while others feel it was more of a neck or face crank. While the verdict is still out on that one, former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping feels that, whatever kind of choke it was, it wasn’t actually one that Conor McGregor needed to tap to. He feels the Irish MMA star simply gave up after four tough rounds.

“Look, what happened towards the end is that Conor gave up, because the choke wasn’t even under the chin; it wasn’t on the neck,” Michael Bisping said on the UFC 229 post-fight show (transcript via MMAMania). “But it’s easy to sit here and say he gave up. When you’re tired and when you’ve been pounded for four rounds. Let’s not forget that, in that second round, Khabib put it on him bad. When you get to round four, the choke doesn’t need to be perfect, the technique doesn’t need to be perfect. It sucks.”

Whether Conor McGregor quit or not, he seems determined to fight again, and ultimately earning himself a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov. 

What do you think of Michael Bisping’s comments on Conor McGregor’s UFC 229 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/8/2018.