Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor make Google's top sports trends of 2018

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor had a tumultuous 2018. In April, McGregor attacked a bus that Nurmagomedov was riding in and threw a dolly through a window. McGregor was arrested and later pleaded to reduced charges.

Two days after that incident, Nurmagomedov won the lightweight title that was stripped from McGregor when he defeated Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 in Brooklyn.

When McGregor and Nurmagomedov met for the title at UFC 229 in Las Vegas on Oct. 6, it became the biggest-selling pay-per-view in UFC history. Nurmagomedov dominated the bout and kept his title with a fourth-round submission.

After the fight, a wild melee ensued in which Nurmagomedov leaped over the cage to attack Dillon Danis, a McGregor cornerman. Their actions resulted in suspensions from the Nevada Athletic Commission.

As a result of all that, it is perhaps no surprise that they each landed in the Top 10 of Google’s top trending searches in sports for 2018. Nurmagomedov is fifth, ranked behind the NBA’s Tristan Thompson, Chilean soccer player Alexis Sanchez, skier Lindsay Vonn and snowboarder Shaun White.

After Nurmagomedov comes NBA star Kawhi Leonard, tennis player Naomi Osaka, Brazilian soccer player Philippe Coutinho, McGregor at No. 9 and British soccer player Harry Kane.

These aren’t necessarily the most searched athletes. Google noted on its trends page that the lists “are based on search terms that had the highest spike this year as compared to the previous year.”

Still, it’s a sign of the continued growth of MMA that both men made the Top 10.

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