UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov seems to have rubbed some people in the MMA community the wrong way after his recent take on Ireland’s MMA scene. Ahead of his cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov‘s title defense, ‘The Eagle’ recently claimed during an interview that the Emerald Isle doesn’t produce as many fighters as his native country of Russia does. However, former UFC fighter Darren Till believes the 29-0 legend is wrong about Irish MMA.

Usman Nurmagomedov will be taking on Paul Hughes, which the internet has dubbed to be the second coming of the ‘Dagestan vs Ireland’ rivalry of the UFC. While he’s got no beef with his cousin’s opponent, Khabib made a bold claim by saying there’s no other top fighter in Ireland besides Hughes and his arch-rival, Conor McGregor. He didn’t seem to have taken Ian Garry into account, who’s been on a steady rise in the UFC. But fellow Russian star, Khamzat Chimaev‘s friend, Darren Till, claims that Ireland produces more MMA fighters than Russia per the size of those two nations.

“I’ve always respected Khabib and his team a lot, they are fantastic fighters. But for him to sit there and say fighters from Ireland are low level in comparison of sizes of countries and production Ireland is actually way ahead,” Darren Till tweeted.“Ireland is so f***ing small and Russia is so f***ing big Ireland has produced amazing fighters over the years.”

While Darren Till backed the Irish MMA scene on this one, he also made it clear that he has allegiance to none, but just wanted to put his opinion out there. “I would said just over size and production of the country Ireland wins every time and this is not me being biased because I am neither friends with khabibs side or irelands side I’m just stating my opinion,” the Liverpudlian added.

There was certainly no malice in Darren Till’s response to Khabib Nurmagomedov regarding this topic, but ‘The Gorilla’ did recently take a slight and unexpected dig at the former lightweight champion.

Darren Till recently jibed at Khabib Nurmagomedov for having an entourage

Darren Till was recently scheduled to fight Tommy Fury in his second-ever boxing match. However, the plans fell off after the younger Fury brother called off the bout due to ‘safety concerns’, citing Till’s threat to kick him during their boxing match. But prior to that cancelation, Till opened up on having been held by a dozen security guards to keep him at a distance from ‘TNT’. Thereafter, he’d take an unexpected swipe at Khabib Nurmagomedov and even Nate Diaz, for having their entourage with them at all times and deeming such people as being afraid.

“I ain’t got no one, Ariel. I’ve come to the conclusion – in this world, it’s me, one or two friends, my coach, my missus, and my kids. That’s it. I’m a loner [and] I don’t need people,” Darren Till told Ariel Helwani. “I don’t need to be walking out in entourages like Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and Nate Diaz. No disrespect, but why have you got 20 guys with you at all times? What are you afraid of?”

Back to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s comments, the statistics would show that there are more Russian MMA fighters than Irish fighters, who currently compete at a professional level – in numerous combat sports, not just MMA. Russia, as a nation, exports high-level wrestlers, judokas, boxers, MMA fighters, and sambo fighters. What do you think of Nurmagomedov’s opinions on the disparity of fighters between Russia and Ireland? Do you agree with ‘The Eagle’? Let us know in the comments down below.