Khabib Nurmagomedov believes his manager would choke out Conor McGregor

At the first UFC 229 press conference, which went down late last month in New York City, Conor McGregor did everything he could to get inside the head of his upcoming opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov — though the jury is still out on whether or not he was successful. 

Amid his verbal assault on Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor even unleashed some scurrilous comments about the Russian’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz.

Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, Khabib Nurmagomedov assured that McGregor’s comments to Abdelaziz didn’t phase him. He said that McGregor can take it up with Abdelaziz himself — though he risks getting choked out if he’s not careful.

“I’m not politic, you know,” Nurmagomedov said (transcript via MMAjunkie). “I’m professional athlete. If he have problem with my manager, he can talk with him. He tried to catch me with something like this; he’ll never catch me. He can fight with my manager, my manager 100 percent going to choke him – he’s a black belt from Renzo Gracie.

“If he have a problem my manager, talk with him,” Nurmagomedov added. “I don’t have a problem with his manager, or with his father, or with someone. I have problem with him. I’m going to fight with him. Talk with me.”

As Khabib Nurmagomedov says, his beef is with Conor McGregor and nobody else, and he intends to settle that beef in brutal fashion.

“Not just win – smash,” Nurmagomedov said of what he plans to do to McGregor. “Smash. Smash everything. Submit, beat – heart, mind, everywhere.”

“Five days, we have to wait,” he added. “And after, we will see who is the real champ. Who is the real king and who is the real Burger King.”

What do you think of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s comments on Conor McGregor? Do you think Ali Abdelaziz could choke out the Irishman?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/2/2018.