Khabib Nurmagomedov makes honest revelation about how Conor McGregor fight altered his life: "There was no way back"

Khabib Nurmagomedov recently recounted his matchup with Conor McGregor in 2018. Nurmagomedov acknowledged the challenges he faced in becoming a UFC champion, including sacrificing his personal life.

Even now, Nurmagomedov and McGregor continue to disparage one another in one of the most intense rivalries in mixed martial arts history. Notably, the Dagestani fighter faced Michael Johnson in the prelims of McGregor's lightweight title bid against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in 2016, where the Irishman made history by becoming the first UFC fighter to hold two belts simultaneously. Following his submission win over Johnson, Nurmagomedov called out McGregor during his octagon interview with Joe Rogan.

The two eventually faced each other in Nurmagomedov's first title defense at UFC 229 in Las Vegas, where the 36-year-old submitted McGregor via a rear-naked choke in the fourth round. Following a brawl between the two teams, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) suspended Nurmagomedov and McGregor.

In a recent interview with Gorilla Fighting on YouTube, Nurmagomedov looked back on his title fight with McGregor, saying:

“I fought Michael Johnson in 2016, [same night] Conor defended the belt, and I challenged him to fight… Everywhere I went, people were discussing the Khabib and Conor fight... That's when I realized that all the training in my life was nothing. Now I have to train 2-3 times harder.''

Nurmagomedov added:

''I only ate and trained. There was a time when I didn’t miss a single training session for an entire year... Psychologically, it affected me a lot. It was hard. I didn’t have any personal life. I realized that there was no way back and I had to choose.''

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's comments below:

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Khabib Nurmagomedov wishes his teammates good luck for UFC 311

Khabib Nurmagomedov will return to octagon later this evening at UFC 311 to corner Islam Makhachev for his lightweight title fight against Renato Moicano and Umar Nurmagomedov's fight against Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title.

'The Eagle' recently took to Instagram and wished them success inside the octagon, writing:

''Hard work remains tomorrow, these brothers with whom I grew up and they have been with me all my life. They are also a big reason for my success in sports, and my love for the sake of Allah for them is limitless. All that I have, I will give - the main thing is that everything is fine with them [not only in this life]. May Allah save you brothers wherever you are and help you in everything, and I will be near InshaAllah.''

Another fighter from the Nurmagomedov clan, Tagir Ulanbekov successfully kicked off UFC 311 with a unanimous decision win against Clayton Carpenter.