It’s been over six years since Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor to defend his UFC lightweight title, but the rivalry between the fighters is still going strong … at least for one of them.
Following a heartbreaking loss to Usman Nurmagomedov at the recent PFL event in Dubai, Paul Hughes paid respect to his opponent and his team, which includes Khabib as his head coach. Hughes made sure they all knew that he didn’t represent some of the vile things said towards them in the past. It was an obvious reference to McGregor, who rarely misses a chance to insult Khabib, and anyone else associated with the Nurmagomedov clan, and he even turned on Hughes for attempting to make peace with them after his fight.
For his part, Usman believes McGregor is ultimately still dwelling on his loss to Khabib and that’s led to an unhinged obsession with his entire family.
“Maybe because Khabib kicked his ass,” Nurmagomedov told MMA Fighting when addressing McGregor. “He wants a rematch but he has to live with this all his life and his kids have to live with this all his life.
“When his kids will grow up, when his kids are 18 [years old], people will say ‘hey your father tried to do some crazy stuff but some guy from Dagestan came to America and kicked your father’s ass.’ That’s it. That’s why he cannot sleep even.”
Usman believes that McGregor has largely tied his entire legacy to that lone fight against Khabib, which did not end well for him and he’s never gotten past it.
Since losing to Khabib back in 2018. McGregor has only fought three times with a 1-2 record and he hasn’t actually competed since 2021 when he suffered a gruesome broken leg in his fight against Dustin Poirier.
Meanwhile, Khabib defended his UFC lightweight title two more times after beating McGregor, and then he retired from the sport after making a promise to his mother following the tragic death of his father during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He has to live with this and pass with this,” Nurmagomedov said. “All his family, all his legacy, all this, is around this. He lost to Khabib when had to win. But it [did not] happen. Khabib smashed his face, his team and all for what he was working [for].
“When Khabib beat him, he [did not] come back to fighting, even for life I think. He’s going to drink. He’s going to beat some women. He’s stupid.”
As much as McGregor might obsess over his bad blood with Khabib, his cousin, who is the current Bellator lightweight champion, knows his family’s legacy is so much bigger than any one fight.
Even now Usman feels like Khabib is still adding to his resume because he may be retired from competition but he’s now become one of the top coaches in the sport — an accolade his father would surely love.
“Khabib’s legacy continues,” Nurmagomedov said. “We’re not calling this Khabib’s legacy. We’re calling this Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s legacy because of him, he began this. This is our uncle’s legacy.
“Of course, Khabib did a lot. Khabib [did] almost more than half. After Islam [Makhachev], now it’s me [and] Umar [Nurmagomedov], we’re trying to continue on this. Alhamdulillah, we have a big legacy and I think we’re going to be on the top for many years more.”
When it comes to his feelings towards Hughes after their fight, Nurmagomedov doesn’t hold onto any animosity and truth be told he never actually had a problem with the irish fighter.
Nurmagomedov knows part of drumming up interest in a fight is finding ways to get people to tune it and watch and selling his battle with Hughes as “Dagestan vs. Ireland” was the perfect recipe for success.
“Before fight, I said Paul Hughes is not a bad guy,” Nurmagomedov said. “I met with him in Dubai, and he’s not a bad guy. He’s not some shit guy. He’s a good guy. But we have to promote this fight.
“That’s why it was calling Ireland versus Dagestan. Because of this our arena was full. Coca-Cola Arena was full. The whole world was watching this fight. It’s amazing.”
