After Khabib Nurmagomedov suggested he was “evil” for posting a toxic tweet about the Russian star’s dead father, Conor McGregor has hit back by telling the undefeated former UFC champ to “keep my name out of your mouth.”
In a feud spanning more than three years and still going strong, Khabib and McGregor continue to trade barbs in one of MMA's most bitter rivalries.
The Russian triggered the latest round by tweeting that “good always defeats evil” after McGregor suffered defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last month when the Irishman’s lower left leg snapped in gruesome fashion.
McGregor shot back with a blow that disgusted the MMA community, writing in a since-deleted tweet “Covid is good and father is evil?” – a message most took as reference to Khabib’s late father and trainer Abdulmanap, who died last year of complications stemming from a Covid-19 infection.
In a recent appearance on Mike Tyson’s ‘Hotboxin’ show, Khabib responded to those comments by calling McGregor “dirty”.
“Like, when he’s talking about this, only evil can talk about your father, wife, kids, religion,” Khabib told Tyson and co-host Henry Cejudo.
“If you’re a normal human, you’re never going to talk about this stuff. For me, it’s like, I think he posted this tweet (when he has) drunk too much or done something.
“And the next day, he always deletes these tweets. When he becomes [back to] normal life, he’s like, ‘Oh, look what I did.’ Then he deletes. This is my opinion what he does all the time.”
Continuing the very same tweet-and-delete tactics, McGregor has now responded by quoting Tyson’s infamous line from 2000, when the heavyweight icon had said he wanted to eat rival Lennox Lewis’s children.
“I wanna eat his children!” McGregor wrote in his since-removed tweet, sharing a clip featuring Khabib on Tyson’s Hotboxin’ show.
“When’s the last time he’s even seen them actually? His wife? Mother?” McGregor added in more taunts towards the Dagestani star.
“How bout you go spend some time with your kids and family for a change and keep my name out of your mouth b4 you get trapped somewhere again you mightn’t be so lucky next time.”
While they continue to exchange verbal shots in public, there is almost no chance of McGregor and The Eagle ever running it back inside the octagon.
Khabib is adamant that he remains retired, having laid down his gloves following his title defense against Justin Gaethje last October, and is now focused on his various business and coaching endeavors.
McGregor, meanwhile, faces a lengthy layoff after breaking his tibia and fibula against Poirier in July, which meant back-to-back losses for The Notorious against his American rival.
The former two-weight champion is expected to be out of action until at least 2022, meaning he is restricted to keyboard warrior combat while the lightweight ranks move on without him.