Most of the Mixed Martial Arts world recognizes Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor as bitter enemies. Ones who will fight to the death if given the chance. And why not? Both the fighters did have a personal rivalry where they were at each other’s throats all the time.

However, it wasn’t the case from the beginning. Actually, Khabib Nurmagomedov looked at Conor McGregor as his idol of sorts and even supported ‘The Notorious’ during his title run against the featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo.

In an old interview of the Russian wrestler, fans can see Nurmagomedov praising Conor McGregor and accepting that he likes the Irishman because of his style.

“Oh, you know I like Conor McGregor. He come up 155. He’s striking guy i like him. I think he can beat Jose Aldo, maybe finish him,” Nurmagomedov said.

“His trash talk is not bad. And he know how make money, everything,” the Russian continued.

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This was before Conor McGregor disrupted the lightweight division. As Khabib Nurmagomedov was tearing through the division, everyone thought of him as the next contender for the 155-pounds strap. However, McGregor was allowed to skip the line and faced Eddie Alvarez directly for the belt.

This was one of the key moments between him and McGregor, which fueled their feud that culminated at UFC 229.

Dana White snubs Conor McGregor from his all-time list

 In a sit-in interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo.com, UFC President Dana White named his top 4 fighters in the MMA promotion.

While White stated the names of many UFC legends, he decided to snub two of his most marketed fighters, i.e. Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor.

“I picked Jon Jones. I picked Kamaru Usman. GSP, Kamaru Usman, GSP, and… Anderson Silva,” Dana White said.

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When asked why he picked ‘The Spider’ over Nurmagomedov, White’s answer was straight and clear.

“Yeah. Anderson just did more. He was there longer. The dominance of Khabib is unbelievable. And like you say, it’s a different day and era with different levels of skills.”

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Could you believe that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor were cool once? Let us know your thoughts on the same.