- Khabib Nurmagomedov mocked Ireland MMA by stating Dagestani fighters are way better
- “The Eagle” got a couple of mixed reactions and responses
Khabib Nurmagomedov seemingly rekindled his beef with Conor McGregor after making a harsh comment about Ireland’s level of MMA skills.
Khabib took a shot at Ireland MMA
Speaking in an interview ahead of Usman Nurmagomedov’s title fight with Ireland’s Paul Hughes, “The Eagle” stirred up some controversy by emphasizing Dagestani fighters are a lot better than the Irish ones.
“Brother, Ireland don’t have fighters, brother,” Khabib said. “Let’s be honest. “How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor and who else?”
“There is no fighter, brother. [If] you come to Dagestan, you can understand. You know, so many organizations, they don’t even sign Dagestan fighters because they worry [that] everybody [will] become champion. Brother, Dagestan and, let’s be honest, Dagestan’s level of MMA is here. Ireland’s level is not even half of Dagestan’s level,” he explained.
The 🦅 has spoken 🗣️
How do you see it playing out between Dagestan’s Usman Nurmagomedov and Ireland’s Paul Hughes battle for the @BellatorMMA Lightweight World Title 👀#RoadtoDubai | Sat Jan 25 | Coca-Cola Arena | Dubai, UAE pic.twitter.com/CiNP4167kz
— PFL (@PFLMMA) January 2, 2025
Hughes and Till fired back at Khabib
As expected, the former UFC lightweight champion’s remarks resulted in an uproar. Hughes himself as well as Darren Till were among those who fired back at Khabib.
“Just wait and see,” Hughes replied.
Just wait and see 🇮🇪 https://t.co/LfkPtNtfls
— Paul Hughes MMA (@paulhughesmma) January 2, 2025
“I’ve always respected Khabib and his team a lot they are fantastic fighters. But for him to sit there and say fighters from Ireland are low level in comparison of sizes of countries and production Ireland is actually way ahead. Ireland is so fucking small and Russia is so fucking big. Ireland has produced amazing fighters over the years. I would said just over size and production of the country Ireland wins every time and this is not me being biased because I am neither friends with khabibs side or irelands side I’m just stating my opinion,” Till wrote on X.
I’ve always respected Khabib and his team a lot they are fantastic fighters
But for him to sit there and say fighters from Ireland are low level in comparison of sizes of countries and production Ireland is actually way ahead
Ireland is so fucking small and Russia is so fucking…— DT (@darrentill2) January 3, 2025
Chael sides with Khabib
On the other hand, Chael Sonnen sided with Khabib and pointed out to Till that “The Eagle” wasn’t referring to the entire country of Russia but just Dagestani. In a video on his YouTube channel, “The Bad Guy” elaborated on his take on the issue.
“There are 2,000 people in the village where Khabib’s from, and seven of them have Olympic gold medals. That is crazy. I went to 2,000; that’s how many people I had in my high school in the mid-’90s. Seven Olympic gold medals!’ It’s just a very different thing. Khabib’s point about bragging about Dagestan or Khabib’s region versus anywhere on Earth—you might not like it, it might offend you, but there’s no way to say he’s wrong. That is simply not fiction. It is accurate, and you’ve got to understand the region,” you gotta understand this area,” Sonnen said.
“Life is very hard [in Dagestan] and for some reason, this one area really embraced wrestling and Judo that gets left out a lot. It really embraced wrestling and Judo all the way up to the Olympic level which is the highest level of sport,” he added.
Needless to say, McGregor, who is a proud Irish, isn’t gonna be happy with Nurmagomedov’s comments. For sure, fans are now waiting to see what “Notorious” will say or do about it.
Watch Sonnen’s full video below:
