Conor McGregor is once again targeting his forever foe Khabib Nurmagomedov after a former member of the ex-lightweight champion’s gym was found to be part of the militant group that carried out a horrific terrorist attack in Dagestan.
On Sunday, reports emerged of assailants targeting multiple places of worship and a police outpost in Derbent and Makhachkala. Per CNN, at least 15 police officers and four civilians including a priest were killed in the attack.
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, the gunmen responsible for the violence included relatives of a regional official and former mixed martial arts fighter Gadzhimurad Kagirov, who had previously represented Nurmagomedov’s Eagle MMA.
As a result, all MMA gyms in Dagestani are to be investigated for “religious extremist elements” per a report from James Porrazzo on X.
“The FSB has announced through Dagestani media that ALL Dagestani MMA gyms are being investigated and INSPECTED for religious extremist elements – especially Eagles MMA, the gym of Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, where at least one terrorist trained. Expect his to not be a “timid” campaign.”
Following the attacks and news of Kagirov’s involvement, Eagle MMA released a statement on Instagram, saying:
“Peace be upon you. We all witnessed yesterday’s terrorist act that left no one indifferent. On behalf of the school, we want to say that we are against any aggression and similar acts of terrorist. The management and coaching staff pay great attention to continue the work of the founder of our school, Honored Coach of Russia, Abdulmanap Magomedovich Nurmagomedov in educating our youth. Our school has grown and nurtured many worthy and educated athletes who represent our country and country worldwide.
“Our school is regularly visited by athletes from all over our country and all over the world, they go through a training and preparation phase for their competitions and upcoming fights. We would like to say that a participant in yesterday’s events has just completed a training kit for an upcoming professional fight and at the request of a teammate was allowed to practice at our school.”
Conor McGregor goes off on Khabib Nurmagomedov and the ‘fake lying rats’ at Eagle MMA
After making an initial statement of his own condemning the terrorist attack in his hometown, Khabib Nurmagomedov posted a follow-up, presumably once learning of Kagirov’s role in the massacre.
“May the Almighty disfigure the face of this creature and all its followers, who, under the slogan of freedom of speech, offend the feelings of more than one and a half billion Muslim believers,” Nurmagomedov wrote. “May the Almighty humiliate them in this life, and in the next. Allah is quick in calculation and you will see it.
“We are Muslims. We love our prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) more than our mothers, fathers, children, wives, and all other people close to our hearts. Believe me, these provocations will come back to them, the end is always for the God-fearing.”
Given the intense history between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, it should come as no surprise that the Irish megastar chimed in on all the unwanted attention being directed at the UFC Hall of Famer and his gym.
Aside from a post that refers to Nurmagomedov and his gym as “fake lying rats” and telling them to “rest in piss,” McGregor also kickstarted a couple new hashtags while sharing the Dagestani’s most recent statement.
“#Conorwasright #payyourtaxes #deadrats,” McGregor wrote in a since-deleted post on X.
The dig about taxes refers to a previous report claiming that Nurmagomedov owes the Russian Federal Tax Service a whopping $3.3 million. Multiple accounts associated with ‘The Eagle’ were frozen as a result.
“That’s typical rat behavior,” McGregor said on a Duelbits live stream. “Scurrying rat. So, he has bills to pay. Two main events or something he has in the UFC and he owes his bollocks to the Russian government. So, he’s gonna pay his f*ckin’ money that he owes instead of siphoning it out through to other countries. I’m ecstatic and delighted that that’s coming on top of him.
“We all will welcome him back into the fight game where he’s ran from. It’s a rat trap. The rat trap has been set. We’re excited about that and to see where it goes. We noticed a little rat scurrying on back. We see him back around. The fat rat we call him” (h/t BJPenn.com).