Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov: Ferguson, Tate, Pettis & more predict UFC 229
Conor McGregors comeback is finally upon us and fans and fighters are split on whether the two-belt world champion can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The defending lightweight champion is undefeated with a 26-0 record and has promised to make Conor humble, while McGregor is confident he can add another highlight reel knockout.
Weve been scouring Las Vegas for predictions from fighters, and here we have a collection of thoughts from the fight games best.
Tony Ferguson – lightweight
Double knockout. I hope those b****** knock each other out.
Anthony Pettis – lightweight
Khabib is the best lightweight. But I think Conor wins. Knockout. I dont know what round because Khabib gets hit.
Miesha Tate – retired bantamweight
Khabibs grappling and wrestling is very, very good. Particularly his wrestling. I wouldnt say he stands out to me as a submission artist per say, but he holds people down and wears them down. Its incredible. I think it favours him in this fight. However Conor McGregor is not one to be counted out. Hes going to be faster and his fight IQ is some of the best Ive ever seen. I either see Conor finishing it or Khabib getting a decision.
Derrick Lewis – heavyweight
If it goes late in the rounds Khabib will win, but if its first round Conor has a shot. Im going to go with Conor.
Mike Perry – welterweight
Im going with the striker, Im going with Ireland. Khabib is very sloppy on how he closes the gap, he gets touched a lot. I dont know if its going to be a short night, Im hoping he can take some shots and wrestle him down and do some of his own work too.
Michelle Waterson – strawweight
Conor is a master at range, distance and accuracy and it only takes one punch to end a fight. Sometimes Khabib is reckless coming in but once he gets a hold of you theres no turning back. Its a five-round fight and I suspect Khabib is going to come out ahead in the fight and win.
Josh Thomson – Khabibs AKA team-mate
100 per cent Conor can win. Hes got to make Khabibs first couple of takedowns look foolish. If he does that, that will get Khabib to start re-thinking his approach. While hes thinking, Conor can finish him. But in this fight, I think Khabib will be on top and smother him to the point where Conor wont want to get up.
Jimi Manuwa – light heavyweight
Im not going to sit on the fence about the result. I think Conor is going to take the victory simply because his hands are too sharp. He is going to land more punches than Khabib and stop Khabib getting hold of him. Im predicting a Conor victory earlier, either in round one or two.
FINAL SCORE: McGregor 5-3 Nurmagomedov
Advertisement Advertisement
[contf]
[contfnew]
METRO
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]