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 country in the world.
You can say whatever you want, but if we’re
talking about facts, you can’t compare Irish fighters with fighters
from Dagestan. We dominate amateur MMA, and it’s not even close—not
just compared to Irish fighters but the whole world. I’m absolutely
confident that if we were to…— Khabib
Nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib)
January 3, 2025
“You can say whatever you want, but if we’re talking about facts,
you can’t compare Irish fighters with fighters from Dagestan,”
Nurmagomedov said. “We dominate amateur MMA, and it’s not even
close—not just compared to Irish fighters but the whole world. I’m
absolutely confident that if we were to organize a team vs. team
matchup, Dagestan would defeat a world team in amateur MMA. And
when it comes to professional MMA, we have champions, contenders
and ranked fighters in every major league. Show me Irish fighters
who are currently title contenders in the Top 3 MMA promotions. At
best, you might be able to name one or two fighters.”
Responding to Nurmagomedov’s comments, Hughes said that the
Dagestani only gained stardom because of McGregor. Hughes also
brought up Usman’s failed drug test from 2023, for which he faced a
six months suspension.
Dagestan number 1 at juicing bratha 💉
pic.twitter.com/ff82h3Q6ko— Paul Hughes
MMA (@paulhughesmma)
January 3, 2025
McGregor also went on one of his “tweet and delete” sprees,
seemingly slamming Dagestani fighters for a lack of
showmanship.
“And all yous arse lickers around the way years stood on no ground
for your own. Sickening stuff, look at yous now. You deserve
exactly what’s there for yous, not a thing. Nothing. Traitorous
bums. The Yellow teeth’s we call ya’s. Pea brains in a cage.
Panache = zero. Creativity = poop. Wherewithal = fart. Embarrassing
to me.”
Conor
McGregor and Khabib
Nurmagomedov are going back and forth on X about which is
superior in MMA: Ireland or Dagestan. 🇮🇪🇷🇺🔥 pic.twitter.com/badIljIUlA— MMA.PROS.PICK (@MMAPROSPICK)
January 4, 2025