Khabib Nurmagomedov has slammed Irish MMA for the second time in two days.
The UFC legend risked restarting his feud with Conor McGregor by making harsh comments about Ireland’s MMA scene, which he claimed was lacking talent in comparison to his native Dagestan, Russia.
“Brother, Ireland don’t have fighters, brother,” Khabib Nurmagomedov said in an interview with PFL.
“Let’s be honest. How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor [McGregor]. And who else? There is no fighters, brother.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov doubles down
Nurmagomedov has faced backlash from a section of fans for his dismissive comments about Irish MMA.
However, the former UFC lightweight champion is refusing to back down. In fact, he’s now released a social media statement doubling down on his earlier claims and taking them one step further by insisting Dagestan is home to the world’s best fighters.
“You can say whatever you want, but if we’re talking about facts, you can’t compare Irish fighters with fighters from Dagestan,” Nurmagomedov tweeted on Friday.
“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. The facts speak for themselves.”
Darren Till disagrees with Khabib Nurmagomedov
Former UFC contender Darren Till didn’t like Nurmagomedov’s assessment of Irish MMA.
The Liverpudlian, who will box Anthony Taylor on January 18, argued that Russia’s dominance is due to its size. In contrast, Ireland has become an MMA powerhouse despite being exponentially smaller and having a population in the single-digit millions.
“I’ve always respected Khabib and his team a lot they are fantastic fighters,” Till tweeted.
“But for him to sit there and say fighters from Ireland are low level in comparison of sizes of countries and production Ireland is actually way ahead Ireland is so f***ing small and Russia is so fucking big Ireland has produced amazing fighters over the years.
“I would say just over size and production of the country Ireland wins every time and this is not me being biased because I am neither friends with Khabib’s side or Ireland’s side I’m just stating my opinion.”
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