Day: 4. Januar 2025

Conor made you famous. https://t.co/88ycFRkTCf

— Paul Hughes MMA (@paulhughesmma) January 3, 2025

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s recent comments have reignited the Dagestan-Ireland mixed martial arts rivalry.

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Nurmagomedov’s feud with Conor McGregor is arguably one of the most memorable in the history of the sport. McGregor’s fellow countryman Paul Hughes (13-1) will challenge Khabib’s cousin Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0) for the lightweight title in the main event at Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai on Jan. 25 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE.

In a recent interview with PFL, which now owns Bellator, Nurmagomedov downplayed the significance of Irish fighters as compared to Dagestanis. According to the former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champ, Irish MMA isn’t even half as good as Dagestani MMA.

“Eagle” further doubled down on his comments in a tweet, declaring Dagestani MMA superior to any other coun…

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Going on to become an Ultimate Fighting Championship champion with one eye is a feat only Michael Bisping (30-9) has achieved and it wasn’t easy for the Brit in any aspect.

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A perennially ranked middleweight contender, Bisping (30-9) took on Vitor Belfort in a title eliminator back in 2013. Bisping suffered a second round knockout loss that also left him with a retinal detachment and eventually loss of vision. The eye injury was not immediately detected and had worsened further by the time it was diagnosed.

It should be noted that Belfort is known to have been using testosterone replacement therapy until 2014, when the Nevada State Athletic Commission banned its approved use.

Despite doctors advising him to retire, Bisping continued fighting, hiding his eye injury the best he could for fear of losing his career. When Bisping went completely blind in the right eye, it was a huge challenge for him to pass the pre-fight tests …