It’s been nearly eight years since Conor McGregor fell to Khabib Nurmagomedov in one of the biggest fights in UFC history but clearly time doesn’t heal all wounds.
As he prepares for his comeback fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329 on Saturday, McGregor was asked to break down his thoughts on some of the greatest fighters of all-time including Nurmagomedov. Of course, Nurmagomedov retired undefeated with a flawless 29-0 record including his final three fights beating McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje in consecutive title bouts.
But that doesn’t seem to impress McGregor, especially after claiming he wasn’t even nearly at his best when he made it to the fourth round against Nurmagomedov before succumbing to a fight-ending rear-naked choke.
“The guy done nothing in the sport,” McGregor told Complex. “13 fights he’s had in the company, that’s it and three against named opponents. He had a fight against me, I was off the yacht. I was doing bad things on the yacht. I was partying heavily, and I was up to my eyeballs in court cases and all of this. I hadn’t fought in two years. I was worth $200 million and I come back and fight this f*cking guy.
“I done four rounds with him. I had a broken toe. I’m sure you seen the Netflix show where I broke my f*cking foot three weeks before the bout. This guy’s nothing.”
After beating Gaethje in 2020, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the sport after making his mother a promise that he would stop fighting following the sudden death of his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov earlier that same year.
Lately, Nurmagomedov has transformed into one of the top coaches in the sport working with numerous athletes, including the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in Islam Makhachev not to mention his relatives Umar and Usman Nurmagomedov as well.
But McGregor obviously still holds a lot of animosity towards Nurmagomedov while dissecting his body of work, and the fact that he walked away from the sport in the prime of his career.
“Where is he now also? He’s gone,” McGregor said. “So I don’t rate him at all. No courage. The man has no courage. The man has succumbed to his pain, and it’s a damn shame. Nothing to say to him. Nothing about him. I don’t rate him.
“Never fought, missed weight, never fought above weight divisions. Three fights, no stoppages, no knockouts. Come on, how many more knockouts as he got, three or four? You must be mad.”
To his credit, Nurmagomedov ended his career with 19 finishes in 29 fights, including his trio of submissions to finish McGregor, Poirier and Gaethje before retiring.
Still, McGregor even takes issue with Nurmagomedov’s overall record after the future UFC Hall of Famer started out facing overmatched competition before he finally made his way to the octagon in 2012.
“His first half of his work was fighting in his father’s shows in the middle of nowhere, wherever they’re from,” McGregor said. “He’s like 12-0, the opponent he’s fighting is 0-0. This isn’t boxing. I don’t rate him.”
Obviously, Nurmagomedov has shut down any hope that he would ever fight again but clearly McGregor hasn’t forgotten about their rivalry that lives on long after the former UFC lightweight champion hung up his gloves for good.
