We’ve seen plenty of fierce rivalries in combat sports over the years but we haven’t seen anything quite like Conor McGregor’s ongoing feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
For the first time, the UFC has been forced to intervene after their current and former lightweight champions went too far in their war of words.
McGregor and Nurmagomedov got very personal with their recent insults, with the former deleting two tweets aimed at Nurmagomedov’s wife before going on to state that he now hopes to move on from the social media spat.
UFC President Dana White released a statement on the matter, confirming that the organisation had reached out to both fighters after the situation “escalated to a level that is unacceptable.”
I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds.
All faiths challenge us to be our best selves.
It is one world and one for all ❤️
Now see you in the Octagon.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 4, 2019
Given the subject matter of the exchanges between McGregor and Nurmagomedov, many MMA fans felt uncomfortable with the increasingly vicious nature of the insults while top UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum fears the worst outcome.
“I just think that there is some lines that shouldn’t be crossed and this rivalry going on right now is escalating to a point where it shouldn’t have to,” Gastelum told MMA Fighting.
“And I feel like if it keeps escalating the way it is, somebody’s going to end up getting hurt or shot or something. I truly believe that.”
Nurmagomedov’s controversial manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has done nothing to calm the animosity between McGregor and his client, warning ‘The Notorious’ that he would disappear if he ended up fighting Nurmagomedov in the streets.
And Gastelum, who is also represented by Abdelaziz, believes that there are certain lines that shouldn’t be crossed with trash talk.
“You shouldn’t mess with people’s wives. You shouldn’t mess with people’s family or religion, absolutely,” Gastelum said.
