Conor McGregor did not mince his words when he offered a scathing assessment of not only Usman Nurmagomedov, but his entire fighting family, in a social media rant after the PFL Road To Dubai Champions Series event on Friday night.
McGregor, who was in Philadelphia for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s KnuckleMania V event, was an interested spectator from afar as Irishman Paul Hughes challenged Nurmagomedov for the Bellator lightweight title in the main event in Dubai.
More news: Paul Hughes slams ‘ridiculous’ scorecards and calls for Usman Nurmagomedov rematch
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After Nurmagomedov claimed victory and retained his title by majority verdict, McGregor hopped on X to share his video of the fight, and the wider Usman family.
“Tremendous fight and performance! Easy win for Hughes, he dominated that fight,” McGregor wrote, praising Hughes’ performance in defeat.
“And (Usman) is exactly what it says on the tin, Nurmagomedov. Runner, runner, runner, runner, speedster, fighter.”
“The Nurmagomedovs are not fighters. They are the most non-combatants outside of Dagestan and of all time.
“Run around the cage and shoot the bastards. Dagestan is better than the Nurmagomedov family and that’s a fact!”
Tremendous combat and performance! Easy win for Hughes, he dominated that fight. And Omar is exactly what it says on the tin, which is Nurmagomedov. Runner, Runner, Bolter, Scarper, Speeder, “Fighter”.
The Nurmagomedov family are not fighters. They are the most non-combatants… https://t.co/oHZDcJ0mF0– Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) January 25, 2025
The bout has been promoted as “Dagestan vs. Ireland 2” as Nurmagomedov and Hughes face off more than six years after the infamous encounter between Khabib Nurmagomedov and McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018.
Nurmagomedov delivered a neckbreaker to McGregor in the fourth round of that fight in Las Vegas, and those old wounds clearly still run deep with McGregor, whose angry social media message exposed his ongoing animosity with Nurmagomedov and his team.
More news: Usman Nurmagomedov closes talk about rematch after Paul Hughes’ win
Before his Bellator lightweight title fight in Dubai, Usman was dismissive of Hughes’ chances, but the Russian admitted after the fight that he was wrong to underestimate the Irishman as he showed respect for his opponent after their 25-minute war.
However, that respect did not extend to agreeing to an immediate rematch, with Nurmagomedov saying that Hughes would have to go out and fight more fights before he could get a second shot at his title.
Meanwhile, Hughes criticized the judges’ scoring of the fight, and demanded a rematch, saying: “I need to get that back. I deserve to get that belt soon.”
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