Getting Ugly
When we reported Wednesday morning on Conor McGregor’s retaliation to Khabib Nurmagomedov for referring McGregor as a “jealous wife,” we knew that Khabib wasn’t just going to ignore it, and that was certainly the case.
McGregor has posted photos taken at Nurmagomedov’s wedding that showed his bride with a towel over her head in two separate photos. Nurmagomedov is a devoted Muslim. “Your wife is a towel mate,” McGregor tweeted with the photos before deleting the post.
Khabib came back with a personal photo of his own, only it was McGregor with a woman identified as Terri Murray, a woman who has claimed McGregor fathered her child. McGregor can be seen with his band between Murray’s legs while she takes a photo of the two of them in a bathroom mirror.
“Rapist, you are a rapist,” Nurmagomedov tweeted referring to recent allegations made against McGregor in Dublin. “You are a hypocrite who is not responsible for your actions. Justice will find you. We will see.”
While the accuser in the Dublin sexual assault case has not been named, there is no indication that Murray is the accuser.
Rapist, you are Rapist.
You are a hypocrite who is not responsible for your actions. Justice will find you.
We will see.@TheNotoriousMMA pic.twitter.com/317rLK5TVN— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) April 3, 2019
The war of words between the two quickly escalated to a scary level over the course of the day. Considering the way things got out of hand both last April in Brooklyn when McGregor threw a dolly at a bus containing Nurmagomedov and then the post-fight brawl at UFC 229 last October, UFC president Dana White decided that he needed to step in and put a stop to this before the shots fired expanded beyond Twitter.
“I am aware of the recent social media exchange between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor,” White said in a statement to Yahoo’s Kevin Iole. “The ongoing situation has escalated to a level that is unacceptable. As such, we are taking the necessary steps to reach out to both athlete camps and this situation is being addressed by all parties internally.”
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani later confirmed that White did reach out to both McGregor and Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov ‘s next tweet does not indicate that he is willing to squash this feud, insinuating that McGregor may be unsafe after insulting Muslims.
@TheNotoriousMMA If you think that insulting entire religion you be safe, you are mistaken.
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) April 3, 2019
McGregor appears to have received the message and the tone of his tweets changed very quickly.
“I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds,” McGregor wrote Wednesday evening. “All faiths challenge us to be our best selves. It is one world and one for all. Now see you in the Octagon.”
I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds.
All faiths challenge us to be our best selves.
It is one world and one for all ❤️
Now see you in the Octagon.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 4, 2019
McGregor, who claimed to retire a little over a week ago, may be ready to return the cage, it sounds. Now the question is, is UFC willing to take the risk of putting him anywhere near Khabib Nurmagomedov?
Thursday Notebook
-Yoel Romero is out of his UFC Fort Lauderdale main event with Jacare Souza after coming down with pneumonia. UFC is said to be working on a replacement to fight Souza. Paulo Costa was originally booked to fight Romero on that card, but Ariel Helwani is reporting that he will not be available for the April 27 card.
-Frank Mir makes his pro wrestling debut this afternoon for GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport show in Jersey City tonight. The show features many MMA names such as Barnett, Tom Lawlor, and Phil Baroni. The show is available on FITE.tv and the FITE app.
Fight Announcements
-Aleksei Oleinik is out of his May 4 fight with Walt Harris and will replace Alexander Volkov to fight Alistair Overeem at UFC St. Petersburg on April 20.
-Macy Chiasson vs. Sarah Moraes is booked for UFC Ottawa on May 4.
-Melissa Gatto steps in to fight Talita Bernardo at UFC 237 on May 11 from Rio de Janeiro.
-Neil Magny vs. Vicente Luque is set for UFC Rochester on May 18.
-Volkan Oezdemir vs. Ilir Latifi is booked for UFC Stockholm on June 1.
-Lyoto Machida vs. Chael Sonnen is set for a Bellator card from Madison Square Garden in New York on June 14.
In case you missed it
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Fight of the Day
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