Conor McGregor and Artem Lobov were once best friends; however, their relationship soured over the course of a year after the Irishman’s Proper Twelve whiskey gained international notice. One best friend sued the other for $8 million, with Lobov claiming that Conor McGregor owed him a piece of the brand after it was sold for a whopping $600 million. And now, this dirty laundry gets a brutal verdict from team Khabib Nurmagomedov as Tagir Ulanbekov gives his opinion on it.

The deal that skyrocketed the former UFC double champion’s net worth by $150 million drew the ire of Lobov. McGregor’s former sparring partner said that he was promised 5% of the revenue, which he never received. However, in the end, it was the Irishman who won the court case. But at what cost? According to Tagir Ulanbekov, this friendship met a tragic ending. One that he could never imagine happening with him and his ‘brothers’ in the Dagestani camp.

He revealed during an interview with Ushatayka that while they have their disagreements, it never turns into something as sour as how things got between Conor McGregor and his former sparring partner. Ulanbekov said, “Yeah, they were good friends. It means that they would not be such good friends if they had to sort out their disagreement publicly in that way, with so much dirt spilling publicly. It’s just that I cannot even imagine something like that happening in your circle, in your family, and it has a lot of people in it, not just two.”

The Russian flyweight further added that there are often disagreements and even conflicts within his camp; however, they handle it directly and openly with each other inside the family. “We can disagree, argue, get upset, but we will still shake hands in the end of it and will go on doing what we do together.”

What makes this even more tragic for McGregor? The fact that it was because of Lobov that he went to war with the Dagestanis. The infamous dolly-throwing incident in Brooklyn was a direct response to Khabib and his team cornering Lobov and confronting him. Fast forward five years, McGregor and Lobov are at each other’s throats.

All this comes around the same time as Nurmagomedov belittling Irish MMA, comparing it with Dagestan’s dominance on the global MMA stage. Things have begun to heat up in the lead-up to Paul Hughes vs. Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator Lightweight title, on January 25. Well, it looks like this is a lesson that should’ve been learned by Artem Lobov and Conor McGregor years ago. But while Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege dropped some wise words, ‘The Eagle’ on the other hand decided to give rise to a major MMA debate against Conor McGregor.

Khabib Nurmagomedov brings forth the Irish MMA and Dagestan MMA debate

On January 25, in Dubai, Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes will face each other in the ‘Bellator Champions Series.’ It is a clash that puts the lightweight belt at stake; however, it might have also rekindled, albeit indirectly, the flame of one of the greatest rivalries in mixed martial arts history. The feud between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. This is because ‘The Eagle’ took advantage of the upcoming clash to criticize the level of MMA practiced in the country of the Irishman.

In an interview with the official channel of the PFL, which at the end of 2023 acquired part of Bellator, Nurmagomedov questioned the importance of Irish MMA worldwide. In addition, the legendary lightweight compared the level of the fighters in Conor McGregor’s country with that of Dagestan. In Khabib Nurmagomedov’s view, Ireland is a nation with no tradition or potential in combat sports, especially when compared to Russia. ‘The Eagle’ said, “Ireland don’t have fighters, brother. Let’s be honest. How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor. And who else? There is no fighter brother. You come to Dagestan; you can understand.” 

He further added, “So many organizations don’t even sign Dagestan fighters because they worry that everyone can become a champion. Let’s be honest. Dagestan level of MMA is here (up high). But Ireland level, not even half of Dagestan level.”

As a reply to this, Conor McGregor uploaded a video on his Instagram where the first half is a montage of his knockouts, while the other features wrestling by Khabib Nurmagomedov, which he believes to be lackluster. But what do you think? Is Dagestani MMA better than Irish MMA? Let us know in the comments.