The chances of a rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor may be all but dead, but the two are still sparring verbally in the aftermath of UFC 257.
UFC 257 saw Conor McGregor lose for the second time in three fights when Dustin Poirier defeated him via TKO. Of course, the other loss McGregor suffered during this stint was to none other than reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. As the public is well aware, McGregor and Nurmagomedov have no love lost for one another, so it should come as no surprise that the champion was quick to add his two cents on McGregor’s downfall in the UFC 257 main event:
“This is what happened, when you change your team, leave the sparring partners who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality,” Khabib posted on Twitter.
When confronted with Khabib’s comments at the UFC 257 post-fight press conference, he offered a fiery McGregor response.
“My team has been the team since day 1,” McGregor said. “I’ve not changed anything. It is what it is. Respect the athletes. And that’s the character of the man for sure, behind the mask. And whatever. What’s he want to do? Does he want to come back or no? Because he’s not throwing no leg kicks.”
McGregor’s dismissal of Khabib’s comments mostly stems from his belief that the outcome of the fight was influenced more by what Poirier did well than any flaw in his fight preparations.
“Like I said, styles make fights,” McGregor said. “Every fight is a different fight. That’s why all this prestige and all that that people try to hold onto, I don’t hold on to that. Whether someone has multiple wins or multiple losses, every fight between every man is different. And that’s it. Dustin’s style just played into it today. And he has the durability, he has experience, and he has that leg kick now in his arsenal. And I’ll adjust and keep going.”
The Irish Superstar would close his response with a final and familiar proposal for Nurmagomedov.
“But if he wants to have his disrespectful comments, come back and let’s go again, man,” McGregor said. “I’m here for it. That’s fighting talk. So if you’re coming back, come back. You try and do it. So that’s that.”
What are your thoughts on this exchange between Khabib and Conor McGregor in the UFC 257 aftermath?
