UFC 229: McGregor vs. Khabib

Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, left, and Conor McGregor at a news conference in New York last month. (Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

By Joe DePaolo

October 6 at 3:19 PM

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

When: 10 p.m. Eastern

Watch: HD pay-per-view available for $64.99 through Amazon Prime or UFC.TV.

This article will update with live round-by-round analysis of the main events and recaps of the rest of the main card.

Main card:

Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0-0) vs. Conor McGregor (21-3-0) for lightweight championship
Tony Ferguson (25-3-0) vs. Anthony Pettis (21-7-0), lightweights
Ovince Saint Preux (22-11-0) vs. Dominick Reyes (9-0-0), light heavyweights
Derrick Lewis (20-5-0) vs. Alexander Volkov (29-6-0), heavyweights
Michelle Waterson (15-6-0) vs. Felice Herrig (14-7-0), strawweights

Nearly two years have passed since Conor McGregor last stepped inside the octagon for a UFC fight. Since the Irishman’s November 2016 beatdown of Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in New York, the sport just hasn’t been the same. But on Saturday night in Las Vegas, “The Notorious” one returns in a match that has combat sports fans hyped and that figures to send pay-per-view buy rates into the stratosphere.

The 30-year-old McGregor — not a believer in tuneup fights — is headed directly to the deep end of the pool for his mixed martial arts comeback. He’s set to square off against undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia for the UFC lightweight championship at a sold-out T-Mobile Arena.

McGregor (21-3, 18 knockouts, 1 submission) returns to UFC after a one-fight detour to boxing last summer. He lost via 10th round TKO to pound-for-pound boxing king Floyd Mayweather Jr., but did turn in a credible performance, particularly in the bout’s early rounds. As a result of his boxing training, McGregor’s striking — already unrivaled in the UFC — figures to be even more of a weapon on Saturday.

Nurmagomedov (26-0-0, 8 KOs, 8 submissions) comes in having won the vacant UFC lightweight belt by outpointing Al Iaquinta in April. The 30-year-old Russian was methodical in victory, but his inability to put away the seemingly overmatched Iaquinta was somewhat puzzling, as was the fact that Iaquinta landed a number of solid strikes. If McGregor catches Nurmagomedov cleanly, odds are the champion will not survive.

That said, Nurmagomedov is a narrow favorite to prevail as many believe the two-time world sambo champion will avoid McGregor’s lethal left cross and get the fight to the ground, where he’ll have a big advantage. It is an intriguing clash of styles between two highly skilled combatants.

But a fascinating technical match does not a pay-per-view megafight make. Casual observers have undoubtedly been drawn in by a promotion that has been a circus ever since McGregor and his crew attacked a bus that was carrying Nurmagomedov in New York in April. The animosity bubbled over at Friday’s weigh-in, where the fighters had to be separated after McGregor slapped at Nurmagomedov’s hand and tried to kick him.

It is this tension that has UFC President Dana White believing the match could generate 3 million pay-per-view buys, which would make it the biggest-selling event in the promotion’s 24-year history. Whether it reaches that lofty target or not, there’s no disputing the anticipation for this one is off the charts.

‘I’m coming for that man’s head’: McGregor says he’ll crush Nurmagomedov

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