**On Saturday night, at UFC 229, undefeated UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov took on former two-weight UFC Champion Conor McGregor for the crown of the best 155 pound MMA fighter in the world.**

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# Before the brawl, the fight!

The fight was dramatic, only matched by the drama that transpired in the immediate aftermath. Tomorrow I'll post my thoughts on the post-fight brawl however the fight itself was fascinating enough to warrant a post on it's own.


# Notorious storyline

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So going into what was billed as the biggest fight in MMA history, there were two realities being presented. The first was Conor's world view.

In Conor's world, he was the king of the Lightweights. He was afterall the linear UFC Champion. He was a two weight Champion. He was the biggest name in the sport. 

In Conor's world view, Khabib's unbeaten record was a fiction. Borne out of the fact that he hadn't face quality opposition.

Technically, Khabib was too slow, his standup fighting too sloppy to survive against him.

In Conor's world all he needed to do was 'rattle Khabib's skull' and Khabib would break.

After all, hadn't Conor undone all the talk of then Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez wrestling him to oblivion with one clean shot of his left hand? Wasn't Conor the man he defeated long time unbeaten Featherweight Champ Jose Aldo in 13 seconds?

Conor would have you believe Khabib was no killer. Sure he looked tough when he and his friend mobbed up on Artem Lobov however when Conor showed up the next day and confronted Khabib's coach... all Khabib did was 'sit the bus.'

Conor was the best Lightweight on the planet, Khabib was just a fraud. October 6 was going to confirm this.

# Eagle-eyed view

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The second view came from Khabib.

In Khabib's mind, he was the best Lightweight. He had an unbeaten 26 fight record to prove it. He had not even lost a round. 

He had fought 10 fights in the UFC Lightweight division. Conor was a Featherweight who had fought one Lightweight fight.

Not only that, Khabib was the only fighter of the two with any honor. Conor had insulted his religon, his country, his father and him. Conor had endangered the lives of others.

Khabib was going to 'smash him'. Conor had a track record of quitting. He quit in the Octogan against Nate Diaz. He quit in the boxing ring against Mayweather. He quit before he made it to the big show.

Conor was going to quit against him. October 6 was going to confirm this.

# Someone's getting mauled... or lit up

Pundits were split over whose world was correct. However one thing most people were united on; this was either going to be a dominate win for Conor or dominate win for Khabib.

Either Conor was going to light Khabib up on the feet or Khabib was going to maul Conor onnthe ground.

I personally believed Conor's striking would overwhelm Khabib however fully acknowledged that Khabib had the game to give Conor a one-sided beat down.

On October 6, in Las Vegas we got our answer and a whole lot more!

# Twenty second in... only one man in it

So on Saturday night in the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, the two world's collided.

 In hindsight the contest was effectively settled in the first twenty seconds.
 
Conor came out as he should and for ten seconds it looked liked like his reality was manifesting. He backed Khabib up towards the fence and unleashed his left hand which caught Khabib in the face.

However after twenty second, Conor was in Khabib's world. Khabib shot for a single leg, getting hold of Conor's leg. Conor did a good job of defending however within a minute McGregor was on the ground with Khabib on top of him.

# Cruise control

This is where Khabib's fight IQ really kicked in. Khabib focused on controlling Conor rather than grounding and pounding. Conor spent the remaining four minutes of the round on his back, helpless as Khabib smoothered him.

# Shocking knock down

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The first round really set up the most significant moment of the fight in the second. Conor came out aggressive in the second, attempting to keep Khabib backing up. Naturally Conor had an eye on the takedown, knowing this, Khabib faked the takedown, ever so slightly, it was just a twitch and as Conor looked for the shoot Khabib instantly launched in with a massive right that caught McGregor on the chin.

Conor went down, the first time he'd been dropped by a strike in the Octogan. With McGregor slightly buzzed the pair began to exchange punches. I say, McGregor was buzzed because he was striking out of position, with his back to the fence against Khabib. Khabib was able to shoot a double-leg, transition to a single leg, lift McGregor off his feet and dump him to the mat.

On the ground, Khabib was able to secure full mount and Conor did well to establish full guard, however ot wasn't enough as Khabib began to rain down on Conor with some vicious ground and pound. Not only that, he began talking to McGregor, just like he predicted pre-fight.

It was Khabib's reality that was manifesting. Khabib even began talking to Dana White, as he promised only to be interrupted by an illegal knee from Conor. This got Khabib back on his grind. He attempted a kimura which Conor managed to escape. However by the time Conor managed to get himself back to his feet the round ended.

# Standup fist fight

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There is an argument that could be made that Conor won the third round. As demonstrated in his fights against Edson Barboza and Al Iaquinta, Khabib is not as effective in the third round after his has spent the previous ten minutes mauling and smoothering his opponent.

Conor was about to stuff and defend Khabib's takedown defence. The issue was that if offensively Khabib was at 50%, McGregor's offence was on fumes so while Conor was able to connect on Khabib he never had him in trouble.

# Show-stopper

If Khabib took the third round off, he came back in the fourth with a vengeance. While McGregor started the round well, Khabib was able to shoot in, drive Conor to the fence and drag him to the ground.

On the floor, Khabib upped the intensity working to the back and then full mount. Conor tried to escape however he was being overwhelmed, Khabib was able to get McGregor's back and apply a neck crank that forced an exhausted, battered and defeated McGregor to tap.

And this was the story of the fight.

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# Key to victory

The speed of Khabib's entry on the takedown and McGregor's inability to sprawl, stuff or evade ultimately decided this fight. Khabib's hands were good also, he fast and busy enough to get McGregor's attention and the faint followed by the overhand right that dropped McGregor was a great move. However it was the speed of his takedown entries that won him his fight.

The fight wasn't a complete wash however wasn't competitive enough to warrant an immediate rematch. Khabib controlled McGregor in the first, but did little damage. However Khabib completely dominated him the second. McGregor had a good showing in the third before Khabib closed the show in the fourth.

Having defeated a prime McGregor, the biggest name in MMA, Nurmagomedov should be on top of the Sport. He should be calling all the shots. However in twenty seconds after the fight he managed to undo a lot of the work in done in the previous twenty minutes.  **However that's for tomorrow... the post fight brawl deserves a video of its own! Stay tuned!**