Khabib Nurmagomedov wants everyone to know when it comes to how much better Dagestani fighters are than Irish fighters, he didn’t stutter.
Alexander K. Lee is an editor for MMA Fighting who has been covering combat sports since 2014.
This past Thursday, an interview with Nurmagomedov was posted by the PFL in which Nurmagomedov took a shot at Ireland’s MMA athletes ahead of the country’s rising star Paul Hughes challenging Nurmagomedov’s teammate Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator lightweight title on Jan. 25.
“Ireland don’t have fighters, brother,” Khabib said. “Let’s be honest. How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor [McGregor] and who else? There is no fighters.”
That drew a response from England’s Darren Till, who tweeted that Ireland is, relatively speaking, “way ahead” of Russia due to the population difference between the two countries.
Nurmagomedov followed up on his initial comments via social media.
“You can say whatever you want, but if we’re talking about facts, you can’t compare Irish fighters with fighters from Dagestan,” Nurmagomedov wrote. “We dominate amateur MMA, and it’s not even close—not just compared to Irish fighters but the whole world. I’m absolutely confident that if we were to organize a team vs. team matchup, Dagestan would defeat a world team in amateur MMA.
“And when it comes to professional MMA, we have champions, contenders, and ranked fighters in every major league. Show me Irish fighters who are currently title contenders in the top 3 MMA promotions. At best, you might be able to name 1 or 2 fighters.”
Nurmagomedov speaks from experience, having reigned as UFC lightweight champion from 2018-2020 and finishing his illustrious career with a spotless 29-0 record. His teammate Islam Makhachev is currently in the midst of his own dominant run atop the UFC’s 155-pound ladder, while Usman is also undefeated heading into his fight with Hughes, and Umar Nurmagomedov (Usman’s older brother and Khabib’s cousin) is set to challenge UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 on Jan. 18.
Khabib’s feud with Irish star Conor McGregor is one of the most notable in MMA history, with Nurmagomedov defeating McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018. Ireland continues to produce quality fighters, including Hughes and UFC welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry. However, none have come close to reaching McGregor’s success.
