UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor clashed in the main event of UFC 229, with Nurmagomedov picking up the fourth round submission win.
McGregor was dropped by an overhand right from Nurmagomedov in the second round of the title bout and coach John Kavanagh says the Irishman was disappointed that the champ dropped him.
?He (Conor) hates technical mistakes. So that right hand, you know? he was very disappointed he got caught with a shot like that,? Kavanagh said on The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show. ?But it is actually funny, I was just thinking about this, you know that right hand, if you showed it to a boxing coach he would say ?That?s horrible. Your head is down and you?re swinging?. But again, I don?t really care about people?s opinions on things. I just care about the strike's effectiveness. It was a damn effective technique. You know it?s one of the hardest clean shots Conor has been caught with in his MMA career.?
Nurmagomedov is a fighter who is primarily known for his wrestling prowess, but the lightweight champion has scored eight of his twenty seven professional MMA wins by KO/TKO.
The former two division UFC champion was never dropped in his professional MMA career before UFC 229, a pro MMA career that has lasted over a decade and for a total of twenty five bouts. McGregor has never been finished by KO/TKO as a pro, with all four of his losses coming by way of submission.