Home Boxing News McGregor needs to be in top form for comeback against

McGregor needs to be in top form for comeback against

Conor McGregor has seemingly thrown away another big pay day with Floyd Mayweather.

McGregor needs to be in top form for comeback against Khabib and maintaining best betting odds

In just over a month’s time, Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the UFC in what promises to be one of the biggest and best fights in recent times.

Fighting in the main event of UFC 229, McGregor is taking on Russian mixed martial artist and certainly a formidable opponent in the shape of, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov, also known as just ‘Khabib’, has a frankly dangerous reputation in the sport with an unblemished record to his name. He also holds the longest undefeated streak in MMA history, with 26 wins.

‘The Notorious’ hasn’t fought in the Octagon since defeating Eddie Alvarez in November 2016. His last huge bout had the whole world watching, in a professional boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, and this one has the capabilities to bring in another worldwide audience.

The event, which takes place in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada on October 6 – the same venue that hosted the Mayweather versus McGregor showdown – is the talk of the sport currently, with UFC fans desperate to get a slice of the action.

UFC President, Dana White, thinks McGregor’s comeback against Khabib will be big for the sport and should pull in large viewing figures. He said: “I am confident it will do two million on pay-per-view. Believe me when I tell you, this will be massive. It’s going to blow people away how big this event will be.”

McGregor is coming into this fight off the back of a break from the sport and certainly runs the risk of suffering from rustiness against a dangerous, slick operator in Khabib. Essentially a match-up between a stand up fighter with punch power and a tricky grappler with excellent ground game, the fight is a recipe for a potential classic.

The styles of the two fighters couldn’t be more different, with many experts feeling a McGregor win is most likely to come in the early rounds, but should the bout go on into the later rounds, then Khabib Nurmagomedov’s chances of victory will certainly increase as he undoubtedly looks to wear McGregor down and inflict his ground game prowess on the Dubliner.

There are a number of options available when it comes to predicting the winner, and be sure to check the McGregor Khabib best betting odds, because bookmakers are divided. McGregor’s knockout power is sure to be a dangerous weapon, so it comes as no surprise to see him being priced at 17/10 (bet365) to get the win by KO, TKO, Submission or Disqualification. Perhaps unlikely given who he’s up against, although the Irish entertainer loves to defy the odds, he’s also priced at 22/1 (Betstars) to win by submission, which represents fantastic value.

Khabib, on the other hand, who’s probably the slight favourite for the fight, is priced at 8/13 to win the contest. As touched on earlier, his ground game is expected to be stronger than McGregor’s, so odds on him to win by KO, TKO, Submission or Disqualification of 11/10 (bet365) represent decent enough value. The fight is also priced at a tempting 5/2 to go the whole distance. With so much at stake and a fight featuring two professionals with huge hearts, we could certainly see that scenario unfold.

The showman, Conor McGregor, is making his comeback in style as he looks to take on one of the hottest names in UFC right now. In what promises to be an enthralling contest, the Irish superstar could have his hands full against a man whose record speaks for itself. In the end, Dana White might be right, this is going to be massive.