Khabib Nurmagomedov destroyed Conor McGregor's comeback attempts with 6 simple words
- Conor McGregor will never recapture his old, glory days.
- That's according to the retiring UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
- "A man cannot have two primes," Nurmagomedov said.
Khabib Nurmagomedov destroyed Conor McGregor's comeback attempts with six simple words.
"A man cannot have two primes," the retired UFC lightweight champion told ACA light heavyweight Magomed Ismailov in a recent interview on YouTube.
After McGregor's conclusive, fourth-round submission loss to Nurmagomedov in 2018, he has fought twice - beating Donald Cerrone in 2020 before a second-round knockout defeat to Dustin Poirier on Fight Island last month.
McGregor has won three mixed martial arts matches, and lost three, in a six-fight run going back to 2016. He has also lost to Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match in the middle of that period.
The Irishman is expected to fight Poirier for a third time in the summer, but Nurmagomedov - who finished his career as an unbeaten champion - said his old rival will never recapture his own glory days.
"Never. There is no way that a man can be at the peak for two times," said the 32-year-old.
He later added: "I'm not talking about him. What I mean is, a man cannot have two primes.
"A team could do it," Nurmagomedov said. "For example, Real Madrid did this a few times in a row. Teams may have this. But we're talking about us, and one man on his own cannot have this."
A second-round victory via arm-triangle choke against Justin Gaethje last year brought an end to Nurmagomedov's run as a pro MMA fighter. He finished his career unbeaten in 29 fights.
Nurmagomedov remains the UFC's champion at 155-pounds, though, and will likely vacate the belt in the coming months.
It is a title McGregor appears intent on re-claiming, but he'll need to avenge his Poirier loss in his next bout to get himself back into the title picture if he is to become the UFC's lightweight champion once again.
You can watch Nurmagomedov's full interview (in Russian with English subtitles) below - discussion of McGregor's comeback is at around 13 minutes: