Khabib Pens Conor McGregor a Personal Message Amid Dagestan-Ireland Beef

Actions speak louder than words. No one will understand this proverb better than Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. Think about their clash at UFC 229, back in 2018. The Dagestani submitted the Irishman in round 4—It was McGregor’s worst night at the office till that point but for ‘The Eagle’, he exacted revenge for the infamous bus attack by McGregor and also the scathing remarks he made about Nurmagomedov’s home country and culture.

While ‘The Notorious’ was all talks, ‘The Eagle’ took vengeance in the Octagon. Even after retiring, Nurmagomedov is honing the skills of sensational fighters like Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov. But is the Conor-Khabib rivalry slowly reigniting?

Hey, we aren’t talking without evidence!

Khabib Nurmagomedov shared an edited video of himself and McGregor on his IG stories. The video was made by a fan and gave a direct message to ‘The Notorious’. The caption read: “He was talking and we made actions above words.” However, Nurmagomedov isn’t the only one who took a dig at ‘Mystic Mac’.

Ali Abdelaziz is known for routinely taking shots at the Irishman on social media and in his interviews. For instance, in October, the famous manager stated that the Irishman was ducking Justin Gaethje. “He got offered this fight at least five times… At least five. At least five. He never wanted to have to do anything with Justin. He said the reason he didn’t want to fight Justin was because Justin talked bad to him on Twitter and Instagram before,” Abdelaziz stated.

“And the history we have with him. He didn’t want to lose to our team, I guess.”

If you look at the MMA landscape, there are more notable fighters from Dagestan (Russia) than they are from Ireland. The only names that pop to mind when thinking of Irish MMA fighters are Conor McGregor, Ian Garry, and Paul Hughes, who will be taking on Usman Nurmagomedov at PFL: Road to Dubai on January 25.

“Irish only 6 million Russian 150 million. I wanna fight with your chicken because this is number one easy fight in the Lightweight division,” said Khabib Nurmagomedov, addressing Conor McGregor when he beat Michael Johnson at UFC 205. This feud has been going on for a long time now and it seems to be surfacing from the depths of MMA history.

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Debate

The inaugural Ireland vs. Dagestan debate began between two MMA legends, who eventually clashed in 2018 to much furore. It was, and still remains to this day, one of the most heated rivalries in the UFC. However, there’s a buzz of an Ireland vs Dagestan 2.0 in the making. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor are part of Ireland Vs Dagestan 2.0 debate?

Between the two fighters, most could argue that Khabib Nurmagomedov has done a better job of representing his country than Conor McGregor has represented Ireland, especially given the Irishman’s present disposition in life.

Years have gone by since their fight, but both fighters don’t seem to have let of go their animosity. In fact, Nurmagomedov’s recent comments about Ireland have drawn the wrath of Irish fighters, who responded by calling out Dagestan over PED accusations. ‘The Eagle’ decided to spill the beans while speaking to PFL MMA, and made a statement that visibly irked Irish combatants.

“Brother, Ireland don’t have fighters, brother. Let’s be honest,” said Nurmagomedov. He further added, “Let’s be honest. How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor [McGregor], and who else? There is no fighter, brother. You come to Dagestan, you can understand… Let’s be honest, Dagestan level of MMA here [high hand gesture], but Ireland level? Not even half of Dagestan level.”

Dagestan is dominating the sport right now but the comments from ‘The Eagle’ about Ireland received backlash from Paul Hughes, who is set to fight Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator lightweight title.

He not only challenged Nurmagomedov but also accused the Dagestani camp of taking PEDs. Hughes wrote, “Just wait to I get my hands on yo boy. Dagestan number 1 at juicing bratha, Conor Made you famous,” wrote ‘Big News’. But here’s the thing:

Nurmagomedov already has three fighters from his team who are champs in three different promotions:

UFC: Islam Makhachev is the lightweight champion.
Bellator (owned by the PFL): Usman Nurmagomedov is the reigning lightweight champion.
PFL: Gadzhi Rabadanov is the lightweight champion.

If this wasn’t enough, three fighters from his team will be fighting at UFC 311: Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Tagir Ulanbekov.

No wonder Khabib Nurmagomedov was quick to hit back: “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 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 1 or 2 fighters. The facts speak for themselves.”

Team Khabib has proven time and time again that they are here to dominate. But do you think they can continue this streak after UFC 311? Share your thoughts in the comments below.