UFC CEO Dana White expressed his belief that the confrontation between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor began long before the star Irishman ascended to the lightweight division.
"Their rise happened at the same time. People say, 'They were buddies,' but they never were. It was like a mutual respect, but you're dealing with two hardcore alpha males.
Both of these guys are killers. They both want to be the best. They both want to win, they're both willing to fight anybody and do whatever it takes to be the best. When you have these two types of people, there is no buddying to speak of. These two were on a collision course before they even realized it," White said on the Games With Names podcast.
Recall that in October 2017, Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor with a fourth-round submission.
