Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that Conor McGregor’s rise to notoriety has shown his true colors.
In a recent interview with ESPN, the undefeated fighter expressed how McGregor’s real character is coming through, pointing towards an infamous incident in 2019 when the Irishman was seen on camera, punching an elderly man as a prime example.
“Money and fame show who you are,” Nurmagomedov said. “All the time we hear that money and fame change, people. No. When money and fame come, these two things show who you are. And what has [McGregor] done? He punched an old guy [in a 2019 bar incident]. You guys can watch everything he did and understand. It’s just like Dustin said, ‘This guy is a bag of sh*t.’”
McGregor was caught on CCTV footage at The Marble Arch Pub in Dublin, Ireland landing a straight punch to the man who was sitting down at the bar section. McGregor received a lot of hate and criticism after this incident, with many condemning his actions.
Most of the criticism directed towards McGregor this past week has been about McGregor calling Dustin Poirier’s wife a “hoe” during his chaotic UFC 264 Octagon interview. UFC legends Ronda Rousey and Ken Shamrock are among those who have defended McGregor against the criticism, and such unwavering support for McGregor from MMA community members is what Khabib finds so troubling.
Khabib went on to say that those continuing to support McGregor will have a bad impact on the sport of MMA.
“I saw a lot of tweets try to support him,” said Nurmagomedov. “How are you gonna support this guy? When kids, young generation watch him, watch this sport? If you want to promote your fight, promote. If the MMA community is going to support this bad people, this sport is going to go in a bad way.”
Nurmagomedov faced McGregor back in 2018 at UFC 229 where the Dagestani native submitted McGregor in the fourth round to successfully defend his UFC lightweight crown. The lead-up to the fight was filled with bad blood and insults involving religion and family by McGregor. Immediately after the fight, the bad blood spilled over as a brawl ensued involving the coaches and the fighters from both sides.
McGregor’s most recent loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 was also marred with dark insults from the Irishman leading up to the fight, most notably involving Poirier’s wife, Jolie Poirier, into the equation, which continued with McGregor’s highly criticized post-fight name-calling.
Do you think McGregor’s trash talk went too far or is trash-talking no-holds-barred?
