Khabib Nurmagomedov has defeated Irish MMA for the second time in two days.
The UFC legend risked reigniting his feud with Conor McGregor by making harsh comments about the Irish MMA scene, which he said lacked talent compared to his native Dagestan, Russia.
“Brother, Ireland has no 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 are no warriors, brother.”
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Khabib Nurmagomedov doubles
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 has now released a statement on social media doubling down on his previous claims and going a step further by pointing out that Dagestan is home to the world's best fighters.
“You can say whatever you want, but if we are talking about facts, you cannot 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 to the whole world.
“I am absolutely confident that if we organized a team-versus-team match, Dagestan would beat 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 can name 1 or 2 fighters. The facts speak for themselves.”
You can say whatever you want, but when we talk about facts, you cannot compare Irish fighters with fighters from Dagestan. We dominate amateur MMA, and that's not even close – not just compared to Irish fighters, but to the entire world. I am absolutely confident that if we…
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) January 3, 2025
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Darren Till disagrees with Khabib Nurmagomedov
Former UFC competitor Darren Till was not happy with Nurmagomedov's assessment of Irish MMA.
The Liverpoolan, who will box Anthony Taylor on January 18, argued that Russia's dominance is down to its size. In contrast, Ireland has become an MMA powerhouse despite being exponentially smaller and having a population of several million.
“I have always respected Khabib and his team immensely, they are fantastic fighters,” Till tweeted.
“But if he continues to sit there and say that the fighters from Ireland are low level compared to the size of the countries and the production, Ireland is actually way ahead. Ireland is so damn small and Russia is so damn big. Ireland has produced some great fighters in recent years. year.
“I would say the country is slightly bigger than the production and Ireland wins every time. I'm not biased because I'm neither friendly with Khabib's side nor Ireland's side. I'm just giving my opinion weather.”
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