Conor McGregor once leapt to the defence of his former UFC rival Jose Aldo after Khabib Nurmagomedov denied he was having a career resurgence.
Tributes have been pouring in for MMA legend Aldo after he notified the UFC of his retirement following a decade-long stint in the promotion. The Brazilian was expected to see out the one fight left on his contract at an upcoming pay-per-view event in January next year, but he requested his release and ends his career with a record of 31-8.
At a press conference last August, Nurmagomedov was asked about Aldo having a second peak in his career following the Brazilian's string of wins at 135lb. The Russian played down the question and said Aldo got "beat up" when he lost to former champion Petr Yan on his bantamweight debut.
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"He got beat up when he fought Petr Yan, right? Just like Aldo's fight against Pedro Munhoz, let him fight Yan the same way and then we can say he has peaked again. You saw what he did, he closed up and waited for the ref to stop the fight. That shows you're not at your peak. I call those fighters businessmen, they come out to make money," Nurmagomedov told reporters.
McGregor responded to Nurmagomedov's criticism of Aldo by citing his two cancelled fights against UFC veteran Donald Cerrone. Nurmagomedov was scheduled to fight Cerrone at UFC 178 in September 2014, a card in which McGregor also fought on, but the Russian withdrew due to a knee injury. The fight was rebooked for the following May, but Nurmagomedov pulled out for the second time.
"Another press conference? Haha for what? You are doing a whole load of nothing mate," McGregor wrote. "You and Cerrone here locked in to fight since way back and you never had the courage. You ran away and now all you do is talk like b****. Aldo is 100 times the fighter you are, and ever will be."
McGregor also addressed Nurmagomedov's comments on Instagram live, adding: "What’s he even doing? More talking is he, disrespecting Aldo? Little fool of a thing. I’m sick of these little fools mouthing about people."
McGregor and Nurmagomedov have continued to clash since their 2018 grudge fight that is mostly remembered for the post-fight brawl that took place after the Dagestani won by submission. McGregor has secured just one win since that fight and is expected to make a UFC return next year, whilst Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title twice after beating McGregor and officially retired from fighting last March.
