Morning Report: Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov trade shots over Twitter

By Jed Meshew@JedKMeshew

MMAfighting.com

Too often in MMA, beef is manufactured. Fighters who don’t have a problem with one another pretend to be mortal enemies for the sake of juicing up interest in their fights. But occasionally, we do get fights where the two combatants actually can’t stand each other. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor is clearly one such example, just look at the post-fight brawl Nurmegomedov started after choking McGregor out at UFC 229. But despite the fact that they met in the cage already to settle accounts, it appears their feud is far from over.

Last week, McGregor announced his ‘retirement’ from MMA and while most people assume “Notorious” won’t really hang up the gloves, Nurmagomedov took the opportunity to remind everyone who it was that retired Conor, should the retirement stick.View image on Twitter

khabib nurmagomedov✔@TeamKhabib

There can be only one king in the jungle.
Only 51.2K6:35 PM – Mar 26, 201918.1K people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy

Just a few days later, Nurmagomedov posted a message on his social media with a picture of him after winning the lightweight title against Al Iaquinta, teasing a return to action “very soon.”

While “very soon” is open to interpretation – Nurmagomedov is still suspended until July and has said he’s targeting a return in November – McGregor’s response was anything but. The former two-division world champion came out of nowhere to mock Nurmagomedov for the post-fight brawl and calling the lightweight champion a “little rat.”

Conor McGregor✔@TheNotoriousMMA

You got your money took and your brothers eye socket shook when you fought me you little rat.
Viva Las Vegas baby the gaf always wins.
Big stomper party in the Wynn coming soon! @ProperWhiskey @WynnLasVegas #adkhabib nurmagomedov✔@TeamKhabibGreat feeling, after 5 championships rounds.
See you soon my fans, very soon.
And thank you all you guys, for support all these years. https://www.instagram.com/p/BvmhKZrADSB/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=1i9amxsl2mk5r …14.8K10:24 AM – Mar 31, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy3,814 people are talking about this

Unsurprisingly, Khabib fired back at McGregor with his by now usual trump card: ‘Scoreboard’.

khabib nurmagomedov✔@TeamKhabib

@TheNotoriousMMA money comes and goes, the honor that you lost that evening will never return, live with it.
Finish career in mma, but start career on twitter? #twitterWarrior19.6K6:00 PM – Mar 31, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy7,601 people are talking about this

Nurmagomedov and McGregor have been at each other’s throats since UFC 205 when McGregor won the lightweight title and Khabib submitted Michael Johnson and then gave one of the most memorable post-fight speeches ever, saying he wanted to fight with the UFC’s “chicken” because he was “the number one easy fight in the UFC”. When he finally did get that chance, Nurmagomedov proved his words to be true, as he had little trouble in dismantling McGregor. However, Conor recently blamed the loss on a “lack of dedication” ahead of their fight and mocked Khabib for his cowardly tactics of wrestling during the fight. He also said that the post-fight brawl afterwards necessitated a rematch between the two of them.

Will a rematch happen? McGregor’s statements were from before he opted to walk away from the sport. But if this is all part of negotiations with the UFC over equity, maybe he’ll be back sooner rather than later. A rematch with Nurmagomedov is likely the biggest fight the UFC can make at this point and Dana White has already said he expects it to happen this year. Perhaps a 2 million buy Pay-Per-View is just the thing to make Dana walk back his proclamation that there’s no way he’s giving Conor equity in the UFC.

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