"How you can tap? Go sleep" - When Conor McGregor tapping at UFC 229 had Khabib Nurmagomedov questioning the Irishman's "warrior" spirit

The feud between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor may never die. The two had one of the most explosive buildups to a fight the UFC has ever seen, and a conclusion that was just as chaotic. The two men locked horns over the UFC lightweight championship at UFC 229.

The bout was a typical Nurmagomedov affair, with 'The Eagle' dominating the majority of the contest, scoring a knockdown and several takedowns en route to submitting the Irishman in Round 4 with a neck crank. However, given the intensity of their feud, Nurmagomedov was shocked at McGregor tapping.

Instead, the unbeaten lightweight legend had expected 'The Notorious' to lose consciousness rather than surrendering with a tap. He recounted his disappointment over what he describes as McGregor's lack of a warrior spirit, saying the following during his appearance on Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson:

"When I catch his neck and I choke him like, he tap you know like and I think, hey you bring like thousands of people from Ireland here on different part of world and you tap in front of them like, and you talk about like about warrior or something like this, how you can tap? Go sleep, go sleep."

Check out the video below:

The fact that the Irishman tapped has been something that Khabib Nurmagomedov has brought up before to remind the former UFC double champion of his surrender inside the cage. Given how often the two take aim at each other on social media, their feud is likely to go on for several more years.

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Were Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor once friends?

It might be shocking for some, but at one point in time, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor were in cordial terms during the Irishman's unbeaten run in the UFC featherweight division. The pair even took a picture together after McGregor's win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 178.

Unfortunately, being used as leverage in the promotion's negotiations during Conor McGregor's campaign to face Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title in 2016 soured their friendship. The breaking point, however, was the Dagestani's altercation with the Irishman's former friend Artem Lobov.