[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 5, 2019, 9:28 AM]
Kelvin Gastelum believes the feud between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor could escalate to fatal territory.
Recently, Jorge Masvidal warned that if all the trash talk in MMA continues down the path it is headed, someone could get killed one day. And some have considered Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s trash-talking, highlighted by McGregor calling Khabib’s wife “a towel,” to be such a path. One person who has such a concern is UFC 233 co-main event combatant Kelvin Gastelum (transcription via MMA Junkie):
“I think there are some lines that shouldn’t be crossed,” Gastelum told at a Thursday media event “And this rivalry that’s going on right now is escalating to a point where it shouldn’t have to, you know what I mean?
“I feel like if it keeps escalating the way it is, somebody is going to end up getting hurt or shot, or something. I truly believe that.”
Surely one reason for such a ominous warning is the way the UFC 229 pay per view concluded, with Khabib Nurmagomedov launching into the audience in an attempt to attack one of Conor McGregor’s teammates, Dillon Danis, all in the name of religion and honor. As a result of the UFC 229 fiasco, several suspensions were handed down, including for Nurmagomedov and McGregor, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has even begun considering levying sanctions for fighters whose trash talk goes beyond what is deemed excessive and unacceptable.
If Kelvin Gastelum were on the commission and this rule was in place, Conor McGregor would certainly be looking at a fine and a possible license revocation:
“You shouldn’t mess with people’s wives, you shouldn’t mess with people’s lives or their religion, absolutely,” Gastelum said.
Even Dana White, who scoffed at the NSAC trying to sanction free speech and who has let just about anything and everything fly up to this point, had to intervene, and there appears to have finally been a cease fire between McGregor and Nurmagomedov that will hopefully prevent words from escalating to gunfire, as Gastelum dreads.
Do you agree with Kelvin Gastelum? Do you believe Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s beef could potentially turn fatal if it picks back up at the level it left off at and continues to escalate?
