Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov Will Be the Best Thing in Sports This Fall
By Bobby Burack
The NFL will be tremendous, as will college football, and the World Series, and Canelo/GGG II, and LeBron James’ debut with the Lakers, but the now official Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov superfight will be the best thing in sports this fall.
In case anyone hearing the news is on the fence about buying the fight, stop it. Whatever you currently have planned for October 6 – if you have anything – cancel it. McGregor/Nurmagomedov is not just the best fight that can be made in the UFC, it is the best matchup that can be made in all of sports.
McGregor is the most exciting figure in the UFC’s history and will without question make his first fight back in nearly two years and the buildup leading up to it unmissable.
Combat sports are at their best when there is an irrational style of trash talking leading into the fights. With inevitable promos from McGregor – and Nurmagomedov – sounding like they were written by Stone Cold Steve Austin, that box can already be checked off.
Everything that made boxing so great once upon a time will surely be incorporated into this one. UFC 229 will feature the return of the most polarizing, interesting, and important figure in UFC’s history against a fighter that has the potential to be an all-timer.
Styles make fights, right? The excellent grappling of Nurmagomedov against the knockout power of McGregor is going to result in a game of chess between the two most ruthless fighters in the genre.
Still not convinced it will be the best sporting event of the fall? The two things that make sports great are suspense and urgency. There is no telling who will win this one, or who even should be the favorite. As for urgency, history has shown careers can be made or ended in just one fight.
Find something that will be, more thrilling, more dramatic, with higher stakes than Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. You can’t.