According to SBG Dublin’s Artem Lobov, the Khabib Nurmagomedov-Conor McGregor drama was ignited by one word that’s deemed as a form of insult in Russian culture.
As we all know by now, the full-blown feud between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor was ignited by the confrontation between the UFC lightweight champion and SBG Dublin fighter Artem Lobov at UFC 223 last April. It was an altercation that pushed “The Notorious” to fly out from Dublin to Brooklyn and throw a dolly at a fighters’ bus that led to injuries and fight cancellations.
However, there is more to this story, at least according to Lobov. During his interview on The Ariel Helwani MMA Show on ESPN on Monday, “The Russian Hammer” says it was all instigated by a single word.
“It might not sound very serious to you guys, but just so you know, ‘chicken’ is one of the biggest insults you can give a man in Russia,” Lobov explained (transcript via MMAjunkie). “In fact, if you call someone a chicken in Russia, that is a person that gets raped in prison – in male prison.
“That’s what a chicken is in Russia. And Khabib knows that, and everybody knows that. It is a very, very, severe insult.”
Lobov went on to explain that the root of the hotel confrontation was Khabib’s one interview with a Russian journalist, where he referred to McGregor as a chicken.
“Of course, me knowing the severity of this insult, I had to respond in a hard way,” said Lobov. “And I think anybody would’ve done the same. If I didn’t do that, then what kind of friend am I? You know what I mean? Of course, my response was pretty harsh, but I spoke facts. I talked about Khabib himself pulling out of fights all the time and the fact that Conor has never pulled out. And I said how could he call him a chicken when he’s the one pulling out all the time but Conor has never pulled out?
“Look, it was a harsh response, but given the situation, I thought it was an appropriate response. And I didn’t see how I could not respond that way. And to be honest, if I was asked 100 times in the same interview the same question, my response would’ve been the same, even knowing what has happened since then.”
In a nutshell, it was a word that is commonly used to refer to a bird or poultry that led to the making of one of the biggest cards in UFC history, and to an infamous post-fight melee that will be talked about for years to come.
Lobov will co-headline the UFC’s Fight Night event in Moncton, Canada this weekend against Michael Johnson.