One of Conor McGregor’s former rivals thinks his time should be up for good.
Retired UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, a foe of McGregor who retired in 2020, thinks that the sport should be done with the Irishman for his bad attitude and history of bullying and fights outside the ring.
“Money and fame show who you are,” Nurmagomedov told ESPN.com. “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 bar in 2019]. You guys can watch everything he did and understand, it’s just like Dustin said, ‘This guy is a bag of s–t.’
“I saw a lot of tweets try to support him. How are you gonna support this guy? When kids, young generation watch him, watch this sport? If you want to promote your fight, promote.”
McGregor and Nurmagomedov have a long history of hate. Before a 2018 title fight between the pair, McGregor publicly insulted Nurmagomedov’s father, wife and religion. McGregor also hurled a dolly at a bus the Russian was on at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, injuring several fighters who were also passengers. Following his victory, Nurmagomedov vaulted over the octagon and attacked McGregor’s team.
Prior to UFC 264 on Saturday, McGregor posted a direct message request screenshot from Dustin Poirier’s wife and sent threatening voice messages over Twitter. As he was carted away on a stretcher, McGregor insulted Poirier and made numerous threats. Nurmagomedov felt that his former foe’s tactics will end up costing UFC.
“If the MMA community is going to support this bad people, this sport is going to go in a bad way,” he said.
The longest-reigning UFC lightweight champion added that McGregor will never return to his previous glory following his leg injury and what Nurmagomedov saw as a lack of drive.
Nurmagomedov said he believes that the UFC will have McGregor fight either Nate Diaz or have another rematch Poirier. No matter the opponent, the Russian felt that McGregor would not win.
“Without broken legs, yes, [he could be the same],” Nurmagomedov said. “But with broken legs, he’s never going to kick the same. With him, no, I don’t believe [he’ll return to the top]. Conor have good age [32], but what happened with his mind, legs — this guy is finished, but he’s good for promotion.”