Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has unsurprisingly taken aim at longtime rival Conor McGregor and backed Paul Hughes in the Irishman's sudden back and forth with "The Notorious."
The relationship between Hughes and McGregor has taken a firm downward turn this week after footage emerged of "Big News" discussing Ireland's most prominent fighter while in conversation with Khabib.
Hughes spoke to "The Eagle" inside the cage at the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai event last weekend, where the former Cage Warriors standout pushed Khabib's cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov, all the way in their Bellator lightweight title fight.
While much of the lead-up had been heated with a "Dagestan vs. Ireland" narrative, Usman showed respect to Hughes after taking the decision win. And the defeated challenger was keen to express to the opposition team that he's far from the same as another Irish fighter whose controversial nature Khabib got to know very well a few years ago.
Footage of Hughes making that point to the former UFC champ quickly went viral and found its way to McGregor, who has since been slamming "Big News" in a series of tweets, one of which saw him question Hughes' Irish heritage.
Though Hughes has been garnering support with his own firm responses to McGregor, he also received some backing from "The Eagle," who branded his rival a "rapist and drug addict" in a post on his Instagram Stories.
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"You are a real Irishman @paulhughesmma and not a rapist and drug addict like this bastard," Nurmagomedov wrote.
McGregor was recently embroiled in a civil court case after being accused of rape by Nikita Hand. He was found civilly liable for the assault late last year and forced to pay the victim almost €250,000.
The Irishman's troubles appear far from ending, too, after he was sued by a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her during the Heat vs. Celtics NBA game in June 2023.