Conor McGregor, the former two-division champion of the UFC, is known for his controversial remarks on social media. In his rise to the pinnacle of combat sports, McGregor elevated the art of trash-talking to a different level. Even Jon Jones attributes the popularity of MMA to McGregor.
Recently, a statement made by Islam Makhachev caught the attention of the Irishman. Makhachev, being a close friend of Conor’s rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, didn’t make matters easy. McGregor, without holding back, criticized the UFC lightweight champion on X (formerly Twitter).
McGregor blasts Makhachev over Jon Jones comments
Islam Makhacev is currently ranked third in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings with Jon Jones at the helm with Alexander Volkanovski in second place. Dana White in ESPN’s Pat McAfee show heavily praised Islam Makhachev for his words when he accepted a short-notice fight against Volkanovski.
In the prefight presser of UFC 294, Makhachev said that he should be the pound-for-pound king number one and not Jon Jones. The lightweight champion believes that the best in the world fight their opponents without discrimination. Jon Jones famously refused to compete against Chael Sonnen on short notice at UFC 151 after the original opponent, Dan Henderson withdrew due to injury.
McGregor reposted the video of Islam Makhachev talking about this with the caption, “This guy is gumbeen. This is what happens when cousins have sex and have a child together. This is the result.” McGregor had earlier controversially called the people from Dagestan, “inbred”. It is very well known that McGregor and Jon Jones are cordial with each other. Jones has even praised McGregor for popularising the sport.
However, McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov were engaged in a heated rivalry. Their trash-talking was too sensitive and it even caused a melee at the culmination of UFC 229. Nurmagomdeov, infamously jumped out of the octagon to confront Dillon Danis, the Jiu-Jitsu coach of McGregor.
Jones reacts to Makhachev criticism
Jon Jones, the UFC heavyweight champion and pound-for-pound king, did not take Makhachev’s criticism to heart. Jones tweeted wishing the lightweight champion good luck for his clash against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. It is worth noting that the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov touted Jon Jones as a God-given talent.
Jones even further tweeted that the newer generation of fighters should make their action do the talking. It was a subtle jab at Makhachev claiming to be pound-for-pound number one with a single defense of his title. “Bones” is known to give out harsh words to opponents. However, since his hiatus ended with him winning the heavyweight title of the UFC, he has been very down-to-earth and humble.
Makhachev is to face Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 in the main event. The original opponent, Charles Oliveira pulled out due to injury paving the way for Volkanovski to accept the fight on 12 days’ notice. The news of Khabib Nurmagomedov joining the training camp of Makhachev has been a big news. Jon Jones, on the other hand, is headlining the next pay-per-view, UFC 295 against Stipe Miocic.
It is worth noting that Makhachev’s friend and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport as the pound-for-pound king replacing Jon Jones for a brief amount of time. Nurmagomedov, who was in Islam’s corner throughout his career was not present at UFC 284 when he defended the title against Volkanovski. He will also be unavailable at UFC 294.
Keeping aside Conor McGregor’s comments. Who do you think is the best fighter in the UFC, pound-for-pound?
