Earlier this week, lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov reignited his feud with old rival Conor McGregor. Many other UFC/MMA notables have entered the Dagestan vs. Ireland fighting debate as well. Now, godfather of British MMA – Michael Bisping, has entered the fold.
Nurmagomedov made headlines dissing the talent of Irish MMA, promoting the Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai. While Khabib acknowledged the significance of Conor McGregor and surging PFL contender Paul Hughes, he said that Dagestan treads ahead. Now, Michael Bisping weighed in.
Now, look…listen – when you talk about Ireland in UFC terms, the first name that comes to mind [of] is Conor McGregor…okay if you’re a casual, if you don’t know much about UFC they’ll say ‘what that thing that Conor McGregor does right’ …but there’s been a lot of great Irish Fighters over the years. Ireland has been producing tremendous boxing talent for generations for years and years and years; they are certainly not a country to mock when it comes to fighting.
Michael Bisping on his on his “Believe You Me” podcast (@bisping)
‘Count’ isn’t the only such instance. Even ex-UFC contender Darren Till didn’t like Khabib Nurmagomedov’s assessment of Irish MMA. The Liverpudlian said Russia touts its impact because of its size. Contrastingly, even though ‘Mac’ is the only big thing, Ireland is an MMA powerhouse despite the exponentially smaller size. Bisping did agree that Russia has had more champs; with USA [72] and Brazilian [22] crops topping the list.
‘The Eagle’ did not back down on the thought. Khabib’s other rivals have waded through on the comparison as well. However, it’s hardly an afterthought. Nurmagomedov heated up the feud further, even after the PFL MMA media sit-down for #RoadtoDubai.
Deeds above words: Khabib Nurmagomedov reposts brutal Conor McGregor fight domination and elongates feud
It was never just about the ‘Ireland vs. Dagestan 2’ skill-to-skill test. It was a battle of giants. Khabib Nurmagomedov of course has a lot of history with Irish superstar and the biggest consensus PPV icon Conor McGregor. The UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor PPV event that followed was the biggest of spot success.
Khabib Nurmagomedov disses UFC rival Conor McGregor with memory of defeat (Source: X/IMAGO)It was one of the biggest buyouts ever, with $6,636,000 disclosed payouts, even without post-fight bonuses. It drew an attendance of 20,034, generating a live gate income of $17.2 million. Subsequently, it’s an elongated rivalry that still persists.
After Khabib’s commentary, Till lashed back at geographical input. However, many fans were quick to jump on Till, reminding him this particular area of Dagestan was in fact smaller than Ireland. McGregor caught wind and took to social media to share a video; a “McGregorism” montage reel of sorts. Then, Khabib dropped his own.
The edit began with the infamous McGregor saying, ‘We’re not here to take part, we’re here to take over’. It then transitions to the fourth-round domination at UFC 229 PPV from Khabib’s side, and some neat ground-and-pound. It also flashes a few Dagestani talents like Makhachev, Magomed Ankalaev, and Umar Nurmagomedov. The IG story caption read, “He spoke and we came and did deeds above words.”
Some in the combat community punter might agree given the dominance of the Dagestani dynasty. Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov is undefeated at 18-0-1. Undefeated UFC 135-pound contender Umar, his brother, is also 18-0. Reigning UFC 155-pound champ Islam Makhachev has toppled even Khabib’s lightweight fight streak and is the current Men’s Pound-for-pound topper. Deeds and deeds indeed.
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