LAS VEGAS – If former interim titleholder Tony Ferguson wants to call himself the champ, Khabib Nurmagomedov has no problem with that.

“When you fight like this, high-level fight, you have to believe you’re the champ, nobody can beat you,” Nurmagomedov said during Thursday’s press conference in advance of UFC 229. “It’s OK. I’m OK about this.”

Nurmagomedov, the current and official UFC lightweight champion wasn’t as OK, though, with UFC President Dana White asking for the former two-division champ Conor McGregor’s belts before a face-off with Nurmagomedov in last month’s intense UFC 229 press conference in New York.

“I’m not OK about this, because Dana already know where is Conor belts,” Nurmagomedov said. “(Featherweight champ) Max Holloway and Khabib Nurmagomedov, he have to know. But he bring with him belts, believe himself. It’s OK. I’m OK about this. But tell this guy (White), hey, he lose his belts. He lose his mind.”

As Nurmagomedov (26-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC) would go on to point out, it’s been almost two years since McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) set foot inside the octagon. The Irishman was last seen beating Eddie Alvarez to earn the 155-pound crown in November 2016, adding to the 145-pound title he’d taken from Jose Aldo the year before. He never defended either title and was ultimately stripped of both.

Nurmagomedov, in turn, was supposed to have fought then-interim champ Ferguson in April,for the undisputed belt. That fell through at the last minute after a freak injury by Ferguson, and Nurmagomedov ended up beating Al Iaquinta to claim gold.

On Saturday, Nurmagomedov gets a chance to defend his title for the first time, in a pay-per-view headliner that some – including the champ, himself – are dubbing the “biggest fight in UFC history.” But, as Nurmagomedov has made perfectly clear before, it’s not just that.

“For me, this is more than defend my title,” Nurmagomedov said. “For me, is more than fight for the title. More than main event. For me, is personal. Honestly, for me is personal.”

That’s probably music to McGregor’s ears – or it would have been if the two had gotten to share the dais on Thursday. After all, the ex-champ took it upon himself to make it personal. In the lead-up to the bout, McGregor hasn’t shied away from personal and politically-charged attacks, targeting the champ’s father and manager and touching on the relationship between Dagestani’s and Chechens.

But no event is more symbolical of this hostile build-up than those that transpired before UFC 223, in response to a tense hallway encounter between teammate Artem Lobov and Nurmagomedov and his crew. In images that would later become b-roll for promotional use, an uncontrollable McGregor attacked the bus that transported Nurmagomedov and other fellow fighters in Brooklyn.

More than six months have passed, but Nurmagomedov doesn’t hide the fact that he’s still “a little bit” angry about the events that would later land McGregor in court.

“If I say no, this is not true,” Nurmagomedov said. “A little bit, of course. I’m angry, a little bit emotional. But my job, when I go to the cage, I have to control my emotional. I have to stay relaxed. But keep going and maul this guy.”

As for said mauling, Nurmagomedov won’t predict definitively whether it will transpire over the course of five rounds, or whether it will make for a quick affair at T-Mobile Arena. He does think, though, that McGregor gives up “all the time” when he tires. And the plan, as it stands, is to make him give up.

“Beginning of the first round, I have to be careful with him, because he have good timing, good boxing,” Nurmagomedov said. “But my wrestling and my pressure. You have to kill me for stop it. Inshallah, I’m going to stop this guy, I’m going to finish this guy, this is my plan.”

Nurmagomedov said he wasn’t fazed by the very loud fans that took over the fight week activities to root for McGregor – if anything, he’s thankful, as the fans are the ones who make the event.

Asked whether McGregor can safely transit through Russia after creating such animosity, Nurmagomedov said nobody cares about “drunk guy” McGregor or what he says.

“When we go to the cage, we’ll both see who going to talk,” Nurmagomedov said.

The champ also isn’t wasting too much energy thinking about what happens afterward. After all, he’s got two main focuses right now: making the 155-pound limit Friday, then fighting on Saturday.

But there’s one thing he seems to be quite certain of when it comes to what happens after the two finish settling their scored: Win or lose, there is “no way” he’ll be shaking McGregor’s hand.

For more on UFC 229, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.