Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor attacked and taunted Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dead father, Abdulmanap.
Conor McGregor is in the beginning stages of his recovery from a fractured tibia he suffered against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking brutal shots at his old rival Khabib Nurmagomedov and his family on social media.
McGregor and Nurmagomedov’s heated rivalry dates back to the infamous bus attack leading up to UFC 223 in New York, in which McGregor shattered multiple bus windows with several UFC fighters including Nurmagomedov inside. Several fighters, including Rose Namajunas and Ray Borg, had to be removed from the UFC 223 card due to injuries they sustained in the attack.
Three years after that incident, McGregor is taking an extremely personal attack at Nurmagomedov and his recently deceased father, Abdulmanap. It all started when Nurmagomedov tweeted in support of Poirier after defeating McGregor via doctor’s stoppage at UFC 264, stating that “good always defeats evil” with the ‘evil’ referring to McGregor.
Nearly three weeks after the subtle jab by Nurmagomedov, McGregor mocked Nurmagomedov’s dead father in response.
“Covid is good and father is evil?” McGregor posted in a since-deleted tweet.
Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap passed away last July after testing positive for COVID-19 along with suffering a heart attack that forced him into emergency bypass surgery. He was just 57 years old and widely regarded as one of the main pioneers of MMA in Russia, and more specifically Dagestan.
Nurmagomedov would go on to fight Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, getting the second-round submission. He then announced his retirement from MMA in an emotional post-fight interview.
Conor McGregor has made a series of bizarre statements following his UFC 264 loss to Dustin Poirier
McGregor hasn’t stayed away from the limelight following the devastating finish at UFC 264. He has claimed he suffered from multiple injuries heading into the Poirier trilogy bout, attacked Poirier and others on social media, and has hung out with pop star Justin Bieber in Beverly Hills, CA.
UFC president Dana White wasn’t a fan of McGregor’s personal attacks aimed at Poirier during his UFC 264 post-fight interview, and he’s certainly not going to be happy about this situation with Nurmagomedov. Despite the chaos, White has alluded to a potential fourth fight between McGregor and Poirier in the future.