Is Khabib really a street fighter? No, according to old Tweet

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

An old Tweet of Khabib’s is currently doing the rounds on social media.

One of the main highlights from the UFC 249 pre-fight press conference between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson earlier this month was the back-and-forth exchange on street fighting culture in America and Dagestan.

Khabib, the reigning, undefeated UFC lightweight champion, said he would destroy Ferguson in a street fight, claiming that street fighting was embedded into his very culture as a youth in Dagestan.

According to an old Tweet that recently resurfaced on social media, however, Khabib was never a street fighter and has never had any interest in street fighting.

The undefeated Dagestani said in 2015 that street fighting was for thugs.

“Last night I was confronted by 2 thugs. I’m a professional mixed martial artist. I’m not a street fighter,” Khabib posted some years back, tagging UFC president Dana White and former UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta.

Street fighter or not, Nurmagomedov is one of the most dangerous men in the Octagon. The 31-year-old has racked up twenty eight straight wins and obliterated most of the competition. Khabib’s most notable wins include back-to-back submission victories over Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.

UFC 249, which will see Nurmagomedov defend his lightweight title against Ferguson, is scheduled to take place next month, April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.