Conor McGregor has launched into a vitriolic attack at his bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov over social media, falsely calling the former UFC champion a ‘terrorist’.
At least 20 people were slaughtered on Sunday when gunmen stormed religious sites and a police checkpoint in Dagestan, a Russian republic renowned for producing numerous world champions in combat sports, including Nurmagomedov.
Footage of militants clad in black garb setting fire to religious sites and opening fire with automatic rifles were widely shared online in the aftermath.
A synagogue in the regional capital Makhachkala was engulfed in flames amid the attacks on Sunday, with smoke seen pouring from the building.
Another group of attackers set fire to a second synagogue in Derbent, the southernmost city in Russia which lies roughly 80 miles further south.
Conor McGregor launched into a vitriolic tirade against his former UFC opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov on social media
The outlandish allegations come after gunmen attacked religious sites in Nurmagomedov’s homeland of Dagestan, a Russian republic
Two synagogues and an Orthodox church across southern Russia were targeted in attacks that left at least 20 people dead
The area’s regional governor later claimed that the ‘bandits’ involved with the attacks had been ‘eliminated’
One of the shooters is believed to have been mixed martial arts fighter Gadzhimurad Kagirov, who was affiliated with a gym operated by the former UFC Lightweight Champion
There the gunmen also attacked a pair of Orthodox churches where they reportedly slit the throat of a priest.
The area’s regional governor Sergei Melikov later said the ‘bandits’ had been ‘eliminated’ as clips showed members of Russia’s FSB security service standing over bloodied corpses at the scene of the shootings.
In the aftermath of the horrific attacks it emerged one of the individuals believed to have been involved was Gadzhimurad Kagirov, an accomplished freestyle wrestler turned undefeated MMA fighter.
Reports claim Kagirov had been affiliated with Nurmagomedov’s training facility located in the area.
However, in addition to condemning the attacks, Nurmagomedov categorically denied that Kagirov had been a member of his team though noted that the former wrestler may have previously trained at his gym.
‘[Kagirov] is not our student, that is absolute nonsense, it is not true.’ Nurmagomedov told Russian media.
‘Yes, he had a camp at the gym at some point, maybe for a couple of months but he was never part of the team.’
Footage shared on the social media platform X on Friday purported to show Russian authorities surrounding the gym in preparation for a raid, with local media reporting security forces had conducted searches at the school.
Former two-weight UFC champion McGregor shared the post, adding ‘#ConorWasRight’, a reference to previous allegations he has made about Nurmagomedov followed by a series of outlandish claims about his one-time opponent.
The Irishman continued his tirade on social media by writing ‘S*** on the bus terrorist’, a reference to an incident in which he attacked a bus containing Nurmagomedov and other fighters prior to the UFC 223 event in 2018.
In a post on social media, McGregor referred to Nurmagomedov as a ‘terrorist’ whilst alluding to the infamous bus incident prior to UFC 223
The Irishman also reposted a clip that reportedly showed Russian authorities preparing to raid Nurmagomedov’s gym in Dagestan
Reports from Russian media claimed Nurmagomedov’s gym was searched in connection with the attacks
McGregor outlandishly alleged that members of Nurmagomedov’s team had ‘held hostage’ doping testers who visited his gym
In another x-rated post, McGregor claimed he had a broken foot when he fought Nurmagomedov in 2018
McGregor also made multiple unfounded allegations that members of Nurmagomedov’s team had held drug testers hostage at their gym before forcing them to accept a different person’s samples, and that video existed of the 35-year-old had ‘smashed up’ a ‘premise[sic] full of people’ with a bat.
‘In the terrorists gym when a tester showed up they would hold him hostage and give a random clean persons urine vs the fighters they were looking to test.
‘All will come out now. When this comes down on top of them watch what surfaces.
‘There is a video of khabib walking into a premise full of people and smashing it up entirely with a bat , threatening all those inside. All will come out. Mystic Mac’
In another expletive-laden post, McGregor claimed he had suffered a broken foot prior to the pair meeting inside the Octagon more than five years ago.
‘I fought this little b**** made rat with a full broken foot. I should have postponed like I done this time. For what did I give this little cousin f***** any advantage for.
‘He s*** himself on that bus and showed his true chicken heart. B**** made spoilt brat. Now you are F*****! When you die I celebrate!
McGregor also reignited his feud with Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz. On Friday he repeated an outlandish claim that the former judoka had been detained in 2001 on suspicion of being involved in the September 11th terrorist attacks.
‘Ali aziz get over there quick and see what is going on!’ McGregor said in a now-deleted tweet.
‘Oh I forgot you can’t as you were detained from a flight on 9/11 2001 and caught in possession of 5 different passports leading you to turn informant against your terrorist jihad cell to save your own rat skin’
The 35-year-old also shared a photo of himself with the caption ‘Prada Bulletproof. Backed by GOD’
In a now-deleted tweet, the former two-weight UFC champion restated previous allegations about Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz
McGregor previously alleged that Abdelaziz (pictured) had been detained on the day of the September 11 terrorist attacks
The 35-year-old made similar claims during the buildup to his fight with Nurmagomedov in October 2018.
McGregor then shared a photo of himself wearing designer clothes with the caption: ‘Prada Bulletproof. Backed by GOD’.
Earlier this week Nurmagomedov condemned the attacks as ‘inhuman’.
‘Going into a church and killing someone just because they practice a different religion. Do I really need to condemn this? Isn’t it clear that this is a brutal and inhumane act?’ Nurmagomedov told Russian state-owned broadcaster Ruptly.
‘Where and when has something like this [been normal?] In Dagestan, over 30 nationalities, and of course, the majority practice Islam, but we also have Jews and Christians.
‘This has never happened in the 30-35 years, as long as I’ve lived in Dagestan.
‘People were being killed five minutes away from my home. How can this be normal? My children live there, my mother lives there, my family lives there, my brother, relatives they’re five minutes away from that place. I was getting calls until morning.
‘They were saying people are being killed and that there are some [anti]-terrorist operations going on.’
In a post on Instagram following the attack, Nurmagomedov sent his condolences to the victims and those close to them.
‘My condolences to all the relatives and friends of the victims,’ he wrote.
‘May Allah save us all from such situations and grant us a peaceful sky over our heads.
Nurmagomedov condemned the attack and shared his condolences to the victims earlier this week
‘Take care of yourself and your loved ones, and let everyone look around themselves and around their children with whom they interact with and who is around them.
‘Educating souls is more important than educating bodies.’
Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor when the pair fought for the UFC lightweight title, submitting his opponent with a fourth-round rear-naked-choke to maintain his undefeated record.
