Conor McGregor admitted he didn't take his training for UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov as seriously as he should have.
McGregor, 34, was tapped out by Nurmagomedov in the fourth round of their UFC 229 grudge fight in October 2018. 'Notorious' was returning to the octagon against Nurmagomedov following a two-year layoff, having crossed over to boxing the year prior for his illustrious 'money fight' against Floyd Mayweather.
In his new Netflix documentary 'McGregor Forever' the UFC legend admitted to not being fully committed to his preparations for facing Nurmagomedov. McGregor also suffered a foot injury just weeks before the fight, as he needed one of his coaches to brutally bend one of his dislocated toes back into place.
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Speaking a year on from his loss to Nurmagomedov, the Irishman said: "Last time I was just not committed, simple as. That led to injuries and doubt in the mind. It's very simple, put in the time and you'll get the reward back. Set a time to train and then train at that time. Set a time to go to sleep and then go to sleep at that time. Set a time to get up and then get up at that time.
"Don't tell yourself you need to do something and then don't do it. I knew in my head I was saying 'Get up at this time' but I didn't get up at that time. 'Train at this time' but I didn't train at that time. 'Don't drink that' but I drank it. These all just infiltrate my mental strengths. Little defeats instead of wins and they just culminate, so I'm figuring myself out like I never have before."
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Zuffa LLC)McGregor went on to knockout Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds in his return fight after being tapped out by Nurmagomedov - and 'Notorious' hasn't been back in the win column since. The former two-weight champion was knocked out by Dustin Poirier in their January 2021 rematch and things didn't go his way in their trilogy six months later as McGregor broke his leg at the end of the opening round.
Although a date is yet to be announced for his comeback fight this year, McGregor is expected to face Michael Chandler after coaching against his UFC rival on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter. A win for McGregor against Chandler, who has a UFC record of 2-3, would mark his first in over three years.
