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McGregor admits to drinking alcohol days before Nurmagomedov bout

Steven Ryan / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Conor McGregor says he drank alcohol in the lead-up to his October 2018 fight against UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

"I was drinking on bleeding fight week the last one," McGregor said during an appearance on "Ariel Helwani's MMA Show."

The former two-division titleholder, who returns to the cage against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 on Saturday, said he's been sober for the past "three, four" months.

McGregor owns an Irish whiskey business called Proper No. Twelve.

"The Notorious" has described his camp for the Nurmagomedov bout, which he lost by fourth-round submission at UFC 229, as a "disaster." He said he worked hard while at the gym, but lost focus when he left.

"Not to that extent," McGregor said when asked if it was common for him to drink before a fight. He added: "I had this venom in me or something."

McGregor said he wasn't "doing what I should've been doing" outside of the gym ahead of UFC 229.

"I'm not going back there," McGregor added. "I'm in a great spot now, and that's it. I've made mistakes, and I've been man enough to admit them and correct them."

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