Jimi Manuwa believes that Conor McGregor’s mind games won’t work ahead of UFC 229

We are only one day away from the biggest fight of 2018 when Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov square off at long last.

Ahead of the big fight in Las Vegas, everyone is predicting who they think will come out victorious. Opinion is most definitely divided; with most believing the winner will be decided via two outcomes.

• McGregor lands one of his trademark left hands to finish Khabib via KO/TKO.
• Khabib utilises his superior wrestling to maul McGregor, easing to a comfortable win.

The truth is, the two are so closely matched it is impossible to predict. They are each other's 'kyrptonite'so to speak. McGregor's weakness is his ground game. Khabib's weakness is his on the feet. Something has to give on Saturday night. Jimi Manuwa will be in attendance at UFC 229, and the top-ranked UFC light-heavyweight is looking forward to being part of the biggest occasion in the sports history.

"I think this is one of the biggest fights in UFC history and I'm looking forward to being there and being part of it. I like and respect both fighters a lot."

  The English fighter didn't hold back when predicting who he believes will win on Saturday. The heavy handed fighter believes that McGregor's superior striking will prove the difference.

"I'm not going to sit on the fence about the result - I think Conor is going to take the victory simply because his hands are too sharp. He is going to land more punches than Khabib and stop Khabib getting hold of him. I'm predicting a Conor victory early, either round one or two."

Despite believing that 'The Notorious' will come out on top. Manuwa does not see McGregor's mind games playing a part in the win. So many of the Dubliner's previous opponents have been beaten before they entered the cage due to his ability to get inside one's head. Manuwa believes Khabib is too strong mentally to allow this to happen, but feels the Irish man will come out victorious none the less.

"I don't think that any of Conor's mind tricks will work on Khabib who is very mentally strong and professional. However, whether there are mind games at hand or not I think Conor will catch him and put him down."

Catch Khabib vs McGregor live on BT Sport this weekend