Steve Austin Breaks Down McGregor V Khabib Fight, Talks 'Entertaining' Post-Fight Scrum
Recently on The Steve Austin Show, WWE Hall Of Famer Steve Austin weighed in on the main event fight between Conor McGregor and UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, as well as its controversial aftermath. Austin shared his thoughts on the fight itself, the "wild" scene after the bout, whether the incident is a stain on the UFC, and what should become of Nurmagomedov for his involvement in the altercation.
According to Austin, Nurmagomegov had an answer for everything McGregor threw at 'The Eagle' and was able to control the fight.
"I'll tell you, man, going into that main event, the money fight, Conor McGregor, the wonderful showman and mixed martial arts guy that he is, super talented cat, taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov. I hope I said that right. A lot of people had Conor winning this fight. I was really wondering to see, you've got to watch that quick left hand, his footwork, his crazy athletic ability. And, man, all the buildup, this thing has been going back for quite a time with that bus incident over there in Brooklyn [New York]." Austin continued, "and I'll tell you what, man, it was a hell of a damn fight. And Khabib had an answer for everything that Conor could attempt to do and just controlled that fight. He ended up tapping Conor out. It looked more like a neck crank than a choke to me. And Conor tapped out. The dude is humble in defeat, talks up a good game. Super game guy, he's going to be back."
Chaos ensued following Nurmagomedov's submission victory over McGregor, as Nurmagomedov scaled the fence of 'The Octagon' and attacked McGregor's teammate, Dillon Danis. Austin would describe the situation as "a pretty wild ordeal".
"And then [after the fight], Khabib jumps over the damn cage and goes after one of Conor's teammates, I guess it was his jiu-jitsu coach." Austin explained, "a lot of heat there. Threw his mouthpiece. It turned into a spectacle. Big ass melee down there. Security was in high numbers. They really shut that fight down, that brawl, that riot, from really getting bad and hurting people. On one hand, it was interesting to say the least, from any angle you want to look at it. Man, I think the dude kind of worked himself into a shoot, went into business for himself, and did something that wasn't that smart. And we'll see what comes out of it, to see if there's a rematch between those two, if he gets stripped of the [UFC Lightweight] title, if he's suspended. I know they held up his paycheck. Either way you look at it, it was a pretty wild ordeal."
While commentators such as Joe Rogan claimed the melee was "a black eye" to the UFC, Austin disagrees. 'The Rattlesnake' professed that he was entertained by the aftermath of the fight.
"Some people were saying, 'this is a black eye on the UFC.' I don't look at it like that. I just look at it as UFC, every time I buy a pay-per-view, which is every single month. I get almost every pay-per-view that they do. I'm a super fan. Sometimes, cool things happen and sometimes dull things happen. This was off-the-charts crazy. And I know when I'm signing up to get a UFC pay-per-view, I expect everything but the kitchen sink. I never know what's going to happen. That's what I appreciate about that. Gladly, no one was hurt out there in the audience when everything started going crazy. And all the melee went inside 'The Octagon' as well, it was just a crazy event and I don't have an opinion on it of who was at fault or this, that, or whatever. Obviously, Khabib jumped over the cage. That's on him, but it doesn't make me think any less of the UFC. I was highly entertained by it. As a fan, I want to see stuff that entertains me and that entertained me." Austin added, "that's my perspective [on] it."
In Austin's opinion, there is no need for UFC to make shish kebab out of Khabib with its penalties stemming from the incident. 'The Global Icon And National Treasure' suggested that Nurmagomedov had already lost out on his post-win interview with Rogan and being presented his championship title by UFC President Dana White.
"I don't think they should go too heavy-handed on the guy with all that s–t that [has] gone on, with suspensions being handed down the road with different talents." Austin continued, "the Conor thing with the bus, all that bulls–t. It was another day at the office for me. The bad thing is the kid didn't get a chance to do an interview with Joe Rogan and get presented his title belt. At 27-0, he should've earned the opportunity to receive that belt, get it placed around his waist by Dana White, but like Dana White said, he goes, 'man, I can't put this belt on you right here in the ring. It's going to cause a riot.' And it probably would have. But, nonetheless, the kid missed his moment. He has been training hard. There has been some trash talking going on there. Obviously, he took it very personally and did what he did. Like I said, he kind of went into business for himself, shot and angle, worked himself into a shoot, and we'll see what kind of fines they hand down to him, but I was entertained. It was cool. Too bad the kid did not get his moment. That's the way it goes. But we'll see how they spin out of this and use this to draw and to a super fight between round two of Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. So anyway, I was entertained by it, but it sure did look like a damn angle straight out of pro wrestling book. I'll just leave it at that. It was an interesting night for the UFC. I got my $60 worth."
And that's the bottom line? If you use any of the quotes that appear in this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: The Steve Austin Show