Getty (L-R) Khabib Nurmagomedov & Conor McGregor
UFC superstar Conor McGregor shared choice words days after his bitter rival, ex-lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov, was inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame.
“Notorious,” who is the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous two-division champion, and Nurmagomedv fought at UFC 229 in October 2018. The build-up to the fight was one of the most volatile ever with McGregor continuously hitting “The Eagle” below the belt with savage trash-talk. Months before the bout, Notorious threw a dolly through a bus window that Nurmagomedov was on, further cementing their toxic relationship.
So, after The Eagle finished McGregor with a fourth-round neck crank at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a brawl broke out between the Irishman and Russian’s teams.
Watch the brawl via the embedded YouTube video below:
Nurmagomedov and McGregor have remained enemies since, so it’s not a surprise that McGregor had something to say after Nurmagomedov’s Hall of Fame induction, which took place during International Fight Week on June 30.
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Notorious wrote: “Looking forward to my own hall of fame entry all the same, I’m a shoe in. First of everything. All the records. KO speed. Knockdown amount. KO’s most divisions. Financials. You name it. No rush tho I’m still in to bust noses open and put opps unconscious. A real goer.”
Then, McGregor shared a screenshot of a previous tweet he published about the brawl, which read: “Straight left hand inside the attackers jab. He attempted to use the big security guard that’s in all the movies as cover, but I could smell him a mile away and landed flush down the pipe. The final blow of the night UFC 229 in association with McGregor Sports and Entertainment.”
Taking aim at Nurmagomedov and his team, McGregor tweeted: “Bang of sh*te off them all. Stick that in the hall of fame.” See the tweet below:
Bang of shite off them all. Stick that in the hall of fame.
Nurmagomedoc Coined His Win Over McGregor as the Biggest Moment of His Career
With all of the drama and controversy surrounding his pairing with McGregor, Nurmagomedov said to reporters on the Hall of Fame red carpet that his win over the Irishman is the hallmark moment of his 29-0 professional MMA career.
“It was here – this arena – Oct. 6, 2018,” Nurmagomedov said via MMA Mania. “Biggest fight in MMA history. I’m very happy I win this fight. I can lose any of my fights. But no way this fight.”
The UFC 229 pay-per-view remains the most purchased event in UFC history with 2.4 million buys, as per Tapology.
And after the ceremony, Nurmagomedov further explained his thoughts on the scrap with McGregor. “The whole world was watching this fight,” Nurmagomedov said. “This fight become bigger than our sport. Bigger than MMA. Bigger than UFC. This is one of the best moments to ever happen in my professional career.
“People never talk about when I jump, with me jump all this sport to another level.”
Nurmagomedov Retired Undefeated With Wins Over the Sport’s Top Lightweights
The Eagle never tasted defeat in his 29-fight run. He earned the 155-pound belt in April 2018 at UFC 223 when he bested Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision. He went on the defend the belt three times, submitting McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
Nurmagomedov is widely regarded as the greatest lightweight fighter ever and is also in the conversation for the sport’s overall GOAT.