McGregor renews Dagestan feud as he insults rival Makhachev
UFC loudmouth Conor McGregor has again taken a shot at one of Dagestan's most famous fighters, this time hurling an insult at top-ranked lightweight Islam Makhachev after a tense back-and-forth on social media.
McGregor has drawn the ire of several fighters from the region following numerous statements made by the Irishman throughout his fractious feud with undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and he appears to have affixed his crosshairs to surging lightweight contender Makhachev as his next target.
Makhachev, the fighter anointed by many as Khabib's successor in the UFC's 155lbs frame, is poised to receive his first opportunity at UFC gold should he get past Beneil Dariush in February – with the 21-1 fighter unable to resist taking a shot at 'The Notorious' on social media after McGregor tweeted his interest in an upcoming fight with champion Charles Oliveira.
"So what date am I fighting Oliveira?" McGregor tweeted.
"Your fight is on February 30," came the cheeky response from Makhachev.
However, Makhachev's joke wasn't well received by the angry McGregor, who shot back in a since-deleted tweet.
"You're a nobody, inbred," wrote McGregor before hastily erasing his message – but not before it had been retweeted several hundred times.
McGregor's insult is the latest in a series of offensive statements he has made towards Dagestani people over of the years. During his feud with Nurmagomedov, he referred to the Russian's wife as a "towel" as well as making derogatory statements following the death of Khabib's father, Abdulmanap.
He had also previously referenced "inbreeding" by quoting statistics about births from the region before again deleting the tweet – something which prompted Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, to wade in to the row.
People of Dagestan some of the best people in the world they are honorable hard worker and have a Lotta integrity something you don’t know nothing about https://t.co/QQYqKjf54Q
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) October 13, 2021
"People of Dagestan are some of the best people in the world," fumed Abdelaziz in response.
"They are honorable hard workers and have a [lot of] integrity – something you don’t know nothing about."
"I hate you, bro. When you die, I celebrate," McGregor responded. "You mad at Google, bro?"
And in another erased tweet, McGregor simply wrote: "Cousin wife."
It remains to be seen exactly who McGregor will compete against when he makes his return from the gruesome leg break he suffered last summer against Dustin Poirier – but with Makhachev or Dariush and Justin Gaethje ahead of him in the queue, it seems that the Irishman's lust for gold won't be quenched anytime soon.
Makhachev, though, has repeatedly called for a fight with McGregor over the years – something which SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh said he would be interested in McGregor pursuing.
Judging by the nature of their recent Twitter exchange, a matchup between the two would certainly now have a little extra zest attached to it.
