McGregor Vs. Khabib – Who Has The Better Cars?

Ahead of UFC 229, we take their fight to the garage.

McGregor vs Khabib is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated maincard bouts in recent UFC history. The two will step into the UFC octagon on October 6 for UFC 229’s main event. The lightweight bout will also be McGregor’s first back in UFC since his boxing debut and defeat to Floyd Mayweather. While inside the ring Khabib has the advantage with a 26-0 record to McGregor’s 21-3, we’re waging a different kind of war between the two fighters.

Outside of the octagon, we’re going to see who wins in a garage war – finding out which fighter has the best car collection. To keep the fight fair, we’ll abstain from casting the final decision. Instead, we’ll give you the facts and let you decide which fighter wins.

Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor is no stranger to living the high life, and while he might not quite have the car collection of Floyd Mayweather, ‘Notorious’ still has a pretty substantial collection of his own. His Instagram account is littered with pictures of him and his rides, so we’ve picked out some of the best in his garage:

Lamborghini Aventador Roadster

McGregor is loud, brash, and loves the limelight. Few cars personify that like the Lamborghini Aventador Roadster he owns. The white Aventador features typically over-the-top Lamborghini styling, a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, and a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 mounted behind the driver. With 690 horsepower, a removable roof, and one of the best soundtracks in the automotive game, the Aventador Roadster is the perfect car to match McGregor’s personality.

Rolls-Royce Ghost

The Rolls-Royce Ghost epitomizes class, powered by a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 developing 562 horsepower and up to 605 lb-ft of torque. Generally, it’s classy but understated; however, in the case of McGregor it’s slathered with a giant vinyl wrap of Conor McGregor’s face and his fighter name. He received the Ghost ahead of his title clash at UFC 205 against Eddie Alvarez. We’re not sure this is the best sort of branding to adorn a Rolls-Royce, but it’s fitting for someone as loud and ‘out there’ as McGregor.

Lamborghini Huracan Avio

The Lamborghini Huracan has been a hugely successful follow-up to the Gallardo, powered by an evolution of the same 5.2-liter V10 that powered its predecessor. In the Huracan it’s been tuned to develop anything between 560 hp in the rear-wheel drive Huracan and 631 hp in the world-beating Huracan Performante. But the special edition Huracan Avio – the first limited edition Huracan available – that McGregor owns is one of 250 aviation inspired Lambos around. It sprints from 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds, maxes out at 202 mph, and is anything but subtle.

BMW i8

Now McGregor hardly seems like the kind of guy to focus on a greener environment, not when you see the gas-guzzlers in his collection anyway, but the man still drives a BMW i8. Of course the fact that it offers performance to rival the Porsche 911 is reason enough to own one, but we’re more inclined to think he drives the 369-hp hybrid sports car because it’s flashy as f**k – or at least that’s how he’d describe it, probably. The man does have a penchant for colorful language.

McLaren 12C

Originally touted as the MP4-12C, the McLaren 12C was the brand’s first production car since the hallowed F1. It sparked a renaissance for the brand that has since seen the P1, 675LT, 570S, and 720S become some of the world’s most desired supercars.

But it’s the 12C that McGregor was caught driving in his home country of Ireland, where he was stopped by the police – likely for drag racing the supercar. Powered by a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8, the 12C generates 592 hp and sends them all to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

DeLorean DMC 12

No, Conor McGregor isn’t going to be starring as Marty McFly in the remake of Back to the Future, but he did post about taking over Manhattan in a DeLorean DMC 12 fittingly decked out with blue strip lighting to make it seem even more sci-fi appropriate. The DMC 12 – famous for its role as a time machine in the cult classic film series – was unique for making use of unpainted stainless steel bodywork, but was known to be a troublesome car to own. The DeLorean Motor Company also had its own share of issues; though rumors have circulated it could make a comeback.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Unlike McGregor, Khabib doesn’t post much about cars in general, so he might have a collection in secret that no one knows about. Take a long scroll through his Instagram feed and you’ll see that he posts more about his pet bear than he does about anything automotive, and when he does post anything car-related, it seems to be mostly pertaining to other people. It seems this could be a rather one-sided garage battle, but we’ll let you decide.

Lada Priora

Back in his home country of Russia, shortly after acquiring his driver's license Khabib purchased a Lada Priora as his first car. The Priora is a common choice in Russia, as it's affordable and provides the basics to get around.

Powered by either a 98-hp 1.6-liter inline 4 or a larger, 120-hp 1.8-liter unit, it's nothing too speedy, but it did the job of getting Khabib mobile. He didn't own the Lada long though, as he apparently sold it early on in an effort to fund his MMA career. If you ask us, it seems it was a worthwhile gamble.

Mercedes-Benz W124 300E

After selling his first car to finance his fighting career, it wasn't long before Khabib needed to get mobile again. To do this, he apparently bought an old Mercedes - a W124 generation 300E to be precise. Powered by a 3.0-liter inline 6, the 300E's 177 hp was nearly double that of his first car. It's also the kind of car that would make the Lada's lack of features or luxury highly apparent, as the 300E was incredibly luxurious in its day, and to an extent, even by modern standards. He lost his 300E in an accident though, so we wonder if Khabib might be looking at its modern equivalent - the E-Class sedan - to replace it one day?

Mercedes-AMG GT

While his 26-0 record in the ring means Khabib could probably afford to buy his own supercars, the Mercedes-AMG GT he owns was gifted to him by a Russian billionaire businessman by the name of Ziyavudin Magomedov. The AMG GT is powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 generating upwards of 469 hp and powering the rear wheels. Magomedov once showed an interest in buying the UFC and is a big supporter of MMA.

Sadly, the car was crashed by one of Khabib’s friends. The worst bit about the whole ordeal is that Khabib wasn’t even present – he was in California when the incident occurred in Dagestan.

Ferrari California

Khabib has been spotted driving around in a Ferrari California on a few occasions. The man is one of the most humble in the fighting industry, though, and isn't showy with his money, so it's highly unlikely the California is his - perhaps it belongs to a close friend trying to convince Khabib to indulge a little?

The California was Ferrari’s 2+2 convertible GT, powered by a 4.3-liter V8 developing 453 hp. It was replaced by the turbocharged California T, and in turn the Portofino, both of which are widely considered to have turned the ‘soft’ GT car into a true sports car.

BMW 6 Series

After making it in life as a successful fighter, though, Khabib has indulged a little bit by buying a couple of cars with his own money. It seems after his 300E was destroyed in an accident, he didn't remain 100% brand loyal, as he spent 5,000,000 rubles of his own hard earned cash purchasing a BMW 6 Series. We're not sure which model he purchased exactly, but since he also stalked Dana White and his BMW, it's fair to say his 6er endeared him to the brand somewhat.

Land Cruiser J200

The most recent addition to Khabib's garage is the Toyota Land Cruiser J200. The large Toyota off-road SUV shares a platform with the Lexus LX, and likewise shares a range of engines ranging from a 4.0-liter V6 to a 5.7-liter V8. It's unclear exactly which model Khabib opted for, but we suspect it might be the V8, which has also proved to be a popular choice amongst his fans.

Who Wins?

While this may seem like a one-sided battle, with McGregor seemingly owning many, many more high-end cars than Khabib (more than we’ve listed here), there’s also doubt as to how many of these vehicles McGregor actually owns. You see, he’s notoriously – see what we did there? – been linked with claiming rental cars as his own in the past. Additionally, McGregor has also gone on record before talking about owning a car being a fruitless exercise.

Before he hit the big time, McGregor used to drive around in a beater of a Vauxhall Astra. As McGregor recalls, “it was my pride and joy. And then when I started getting a little bit older and it started conking out and it needed to be put through the test. I was in a relationship with a machine, and we’re not supposed to be in a relationship with a machine, we’re supposed to use a machine and then get the f**k out of there.

“So ever since that kind of buzz with that, I don’t want (anything that expensive). What’s the thing, if it drives, flies, floats or f**ks, rent it or something like that. So that’s where I’m at right now.

“I roll in, have a little buzz, take a few pictures, get couple million likes and then get the f**k out of there. No relationship, no strings attached with the damn machine.”

So while McGregor might arguably have a taste for the high life when it comes to the cars he drives, it turns out he might not be all that attached to them at all. Khabib, on the other hand, seems the humbler of the two - the one who enjoys his money silently without being flashy and flaunting it.

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