Khabib Nurmagomedov sent Conor McGregor into the trenches with his rear-naked choke at UFC 229. He made history that day with one of the most intense rivalries the UFC had ever seen. But that didn’t close the chapter on their storied feud. In fact, even years later, ‘The Notorious’ managed to get revenge by turning one of his closest relationships sour.

Nurmagomedov’s rivalry with McGregor went beyond competition, with the latter’s insensitive comments on his religion and family deeply ingrained in Nurmagomedov’s mind. That said, when one of his training partners, Josh Thompson, casually invited the Irish fighter on his podcast, it surely rubbed him the wrong way.

Khabib Nurmagomedov went silent on AKA teammate

Shedding light on the incident, Weighing In co-host and ‘The Eagle’s long-time training partner, Josh Thompson, remarked, “Khabib was upset with me when I had Conor McGregor on our show, and he didn’t talk to me for a while, and I had to reach out to him like, ‘Hey, you haven’t returned my call that we ran into.'”

Nurmagomedov clearly wasn’t a big fan of McGregor being invited to Thompson’s podcast, not hesitating to express his disappointment. Thompson, on the other hand, was clueless about his training partner’s disapproval, as he quipped, “I was like, ‘Oh wow, I didn’t know this’… I didn’t think he’d be offended by it, because I was like, ‘You beat his face in, like what is there to talk about? You destroyed him.'”

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That sour rift between the two was a rare occurrence, given Nurmagomedov’s strong sense of loyalty to his friends, as often emphasized by those closest to him. The episode stung even more because Thompson had cornered the ‘Eagle’ in his early UFC fights. In fact, as a Strikeforce Champion and veteran, he worked closely with Nurmagomedov in the gym, explaining why his actions hurt the Dagestani fighter so much.

While initially it made little sense to Thompson, he was soon to understand Nurmagomedov’s viewpoint, as he added in retrospect, “As I look back, I’m like, I understand now. He said all these things about your father, said all these things about you and your religion and your culture and your family and your wife and everything. And so then I wrapped my head around that. I was like, ‘Alright, cool. I understand exactly where you’re coming from now.'”

Soon enough, Nurmagomedov also turned the page on this bitter chapter, forgiving Thompson. But he wasn’t ready to bury the hatchet with Conor McGregor, belittling the Irish MMA scene.

Khabib Nurmagomedov trashed Irish MMA

No longer than a year ago, Nurmagomedov was intent on ruffling the feathers of his past rivalry once again, this time taking shots at how Ireland stacked up against Dagestan when it came to MMA. It’s safe to say the comments were far from respectful.

Speaking with PFL, he noted, “Ireland don’t have fighters, brother. Let’s be honest. How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor [McGregor] and who else? There is no fighters.” While facts would argue otherwise, Nurmagomedov even went so far as to remark, “Dagestan, and let’s be honest, Dagestan level of MMA [up] here. But Ireland level? Not even half of Dagestan level.”

While provocative and triggering, John McCarthy of Weighing In was quick to jump to his defense, underscoring the strong bond between his friends. And although McCarthy took into account the nuance of his statement, arguing that Ireland too has fighters “absolutely freaking just rock solid fighters and tough as hell,” he noted that the comment bubbled from Nurmagomedov’s own enmity with the ‘Notorious’.

McCarthy respects that loyal, spirited attitude of the Dagestani wrestler, as he explained, “You can’t put him down for that. It’s the way he lives his life, he’s true to himself, he’s true to his people, he’s true to everybody that he helps train.” At the end of the day, it goes on to show how firmly Nurmagomedov stands his ground. It’s a line that, once crossed, is never easily forgiven.