UFC fighter and cousin to undefeated fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman Nurmagomedov, taunts UFC star Conor McGregor over obsession with his cousin and family.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor had one of the most epic battles in MMA over six years ago. Although the two haven’t faced each other since then, tensions are still high between them, especially for McGregor, who constantly attacks Nurmagomedov and the whole Dagestani tribe.
The Irishman has had it in for the Dagestani family since his defeat and even went out of his way to insult his fellow Irishman Paul Hughes, who lost to Usman Nurmagomedov at the PFL. After his loss, Hughes paid respect to Nurmagomedov and his team, and McGregor took this as a slight insult and rained down insults on Hughes.
Although McGregor still has some deep-rooted beef with the Nurmagomedov clan, Usman believes the former champion is still not over his loss to Khabib, which has led to an obsession with his 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.”
“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. And, he’s going to beat some women. He’s stupid.”
Despite all the hate, the Nurmagomedov tribe keeps shining on. Khabib retired as the reigning UFC lightweight champion after his father died in 2020 and coaches some of the top Dagestani fighters in MMA. His cousin, Usman, is the current Bellator lightweight champion.
“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.”
Although McGregor has started many comparisons between the Irish and Dagestani, Usman revealed he has no bad feelings towards them. The fighter revealed there was never any feud with Paul Hughes, and he believes the “Dagestan vs Ireland” animosity was a way to drum up views and sell the fight.
“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.”
Since losing to Khabib back in 2018. McGregor has only fought three times since his loss to Khabib. His last fight was in 2021, where he suffered a gruesome broken leg in his fight against Dustin Poirier. The fighter was set to battle Michael Chandler in 2024 but pulled out due to an injury.
