The lead-up to the fight between Conor McGregor and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was extremely personal. Of course, the fight started because of some issues between McGregor’s good friend, Artem Lobov, and Khabib. McGregor got himself arrested defending Lobov’s honor in New York, attacking a fighter bus Khabib was sitting on.
In their press conferences leading up to the fight, McGregor took a lot of uncomfortably personal jabs at Khabib. The Irishman touched on Kahbib’s family, religion, and country. When it was all said and done, Khabib emerged victorious with a fourth-round submission victory. The victory was short-lived, as Khabib sparked a post-fight brawl between both teams immediately after.
Both Khabib and McGregor are now facing punishments from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). Speaking on an ESPN Q&A recently, UFC President Dana White was asked about the trash talk that sparked the post-fight melee. When asked if he’d restrict any areas of trash talk in a potential Khabib and McGregor rematch, White said he wouldn’t (via MMA Fighting):
“Well my philosophy on this stuff is that this a fight,” said White. “Since the beginning of time people have said mean things to each other in a fight, no matter what. Muhammad Ali called Joe Frazier an Uncle Tom, back when that was one of the worst things you could say to a guy.
“He called him a gorilla; ‘it’s gonna be a thriller and a chiller when I get the gorilla in Manilla,’ and things like that. And for the rest of his life, [Frazier] hated Muhammad Ali, hated him for the things that he said about him.
“This is not the nice business, this is the fight business. This wasn’t the first time that mean things were said to another person and it won’t be the last.”
What do you think about White’s comments regarding the trash talk between McGregor and Khabib?
