Khabib Nurmagomedov criticizes Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match: “It was not a real fight”

Khabib Nurmagomedov has weighed in on the 2017 superfight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.

The boxing match between the UFC lightweight champion and one of the GOATs of boxing is the second-largest PPV ever. The fight sold 4.3 million buys in the United States, and over a million in the U.K. as well.

The bout earned a positive reception from fans and media. Despite McGregor being a massive underdog, he gave ‘Money’ trouble in the early rounds. However, Mayweather rallied in the later rounds and earned a 10th round TKO victory in ‘The Money Fight’.

However, Khabib Nurmagomedov saw something different in the bout. ‘The Eagle’ saw the fight more as a sparring match, and that the boxer was likely going easy on McGregor. He also opined that the bad blood between the two men was nothing compared to his feud with ‘The Notorious’.

“It was a historical event because of an MMA champion vs. boxing champion but many people don’t even remember what happened inside the fight. It was just like a sparring fight and for me, it was not a real fight because this guy (McGregor) not a real boxer. For me, it was more like a fake fight.”

Nurmagomedov continued, “This is just my opinion. Maybe, maybe not… Then, what was between us, was real. Everything that happened before the fight, inside the fight, after the fight.”

While Khabib Nurmagomedov may not think Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather was a real fight, his showdown with ‘The Notorious’ was.

Their 2018 UFC lightweight title fight was the most bought PPV in UFC history. 2.4 million people watched Khabib Nurmagomedov submit Conor McGregor in the fourth round. Following the bout, ‘The Eagle’ soared into the crowd to brawl with McGregor’s team, in a scene that will live in MMA history.

Image: Irish Times

What do you think about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s comments on Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather?