Khabib Nurmagomedov has fired back at Conor McGregor after the Irishman said he has a long way to go before making it to the mixed martial arts ‘GOAT’ conversation.
‘The Notorious’ from Ireland recently named himself as the second greatest fighter ever behind Anderson Silva while Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones placed third and fourth respectively in McGregor’s list of greatest mixed martial artists of all-time.
“GOAT THREAD. The array of finishes, across 2 divisions, with champion status in 1, Anderson Silva is No.1 MMA GOAT. My array of finishes, across 3 divisions, with champion status in 2, I’m No.2. If not tied 1. However still active, No.1 is fully secured by career end. And easily,” Conor wrote on Twitter.
“GSP is in at 3. Much less array of finishes but champion status in 2. He is far behind though. Reasons = Left 170 after much damage taken+questionable decision. Never re-engaged 170lb successors. Bottled Anderson fight. Only moved when one eyed fighter presented. Played safe.”
“Jon is 4. Maybe tied 3. More array of finishes than 3 and still active, but champion status in just 1. Reasons = Multiple lacklustre decision performances + questionable decision win. Attempting to safe play HW entry/avoiding its champion.”
Not Included
When asked about Nurmagomedov’s ranking, McGregor said: “Fancy record but a way to go before any GOAT entry. Only HL is win over me with hangover and broken foot. Other than that, made Iaquintas career with bad performance before Cerrone ended it again. 3rds to get Poirier out. 0 array of finishes. Bottled many bouts. Zero else of note.”
The Irishman fought the lightweight champion in UFC 229 in October 2018 and came up short in reclaiming the 155-pound title as he was submitted in the fourth round via neck crank.
After scoring an emphatic 40-second knockout last January, McGregor said he wants to bounce back from this ugly loss and fight Khabib in a rematch later this year.
Tap Machine
Khabib was quick to criticize McGregor for claiming he is the second best fighter ever as he reminded his biggest enemy that he never defended his UFC titles and tapped out in three different weight classes.
“You tapped out in featherweight , you tapped out in lightweight and you tapped in welterweight , you never defended title in the UFC or Cage Warriors , you gave up more than GSP , Spider and Bones all together. you greatest @ufc fighter in twitter history,” Khabib said.
The Russian lightweight remains undefeated in his professional career and currently holds the longest and most active win streak at 155 pounds. He is set to return later this year to unify the lightweight belts with newly crowned interim champion, Justin Gaethje.
(Featured Image Source: Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov)