Khabib Nurmagomedov has created headlines after he weighed in with a scathing take regarding Irish fighters.
The former UFC lightweight champion has spent a lot of time thinking and talking about mixed martial artists from the emerald isle.
Though his own focus was previously on a certain "Notorious" competitor, Nurmagomedov and his team have their eyes on a different Irishman at this moment in time.
At the PFL's Road to Dubai event on January 25, Khabib's cousin, the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov, will defend his Bellator lightweight title against Paul Hughes.
The fight has been promoted as the second chapter of the Ireland vs. Dagestan rivalry which produced the biggest contest in the history of the sport back in 2018.
In a recent social media clip posted by PFL, Khabib gave his thoughts on how the two regions match-up when it comes to MMA talent:
“Ireland don’t have fighters, brother,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with PFL. “Let’s be honest: How many fighters from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor. Who else? There is no fighters, brother. You come to Dagestan, you can understand. So many organizations, they don’t even want to sign Dagestan fighters because they worry about like, everybody can become champion.”
2024 was another big year for Nurmagomedov and his camp with the likes of Islam Makhachev, Gadzhi Rabadanov and his cousins, Usman and Umar, achieving great success at the highest level of the sport.
However, as has been pointed out on social media, Ireland's success in combat sports is very impressive when you consider the size of the talent pool and overall population compared to some of the other major players.
Nurmagomedov, however, isn't convinced.
“Let’s be honest: Dagestan level of MMA here (up high),” Nurmagomedov said. “But Ireland level, like not even half of Dagestan level.”
