"He deserves it" - When Islam Makhachev gave cold reaction to Conor McGregor's shock injury for involving families in trash-talk
Conor McGregor and Islam Makhachev will never see eye to eye. The Irishman has been repeatedly critical of the Dagestani and all fighters from his camp for as long as fans can remember. Back at UFC 284, Islam Makhachev faced Alexander Volkanovski in a widely celebrated fight.
Fans and even fellow fighters were excited over what turned out to be one of the greatest displays of high-level MMA skills. However, McGregor was unimpressed and even took aim at both men on X before the fight, referring to them as 'ticks' who held his old belts. This enmity dates back to UFC 229.
At the time, Conor McGregor viciously targeted Khabib Nurmagomedov with deeply personal trash talk. He also did the same to Dustin Poirier, against whom his lower shin snapped in half in one of the most gruesome injuries in UFC history. According to Islam Makhachev, Conor McGregor deserved what happened to him.
The reigning lightweight champion said as much in an exclusive 2021 interview with Hindustan Times:
"He always talks too much. But now he involves family and his wife. It is not good. All that happened to McGregor, he deserves it."
Islam Makhachev's own words were similar to Khabib Nurmagomedov describing Poirier's second win over McGregor as evidence of good always triumphing over evil. Unfortunately, this drew a tasteless remark from the Irishman about his rival's deceased father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
The elder Nurmagomedov died due to COVID-related complications. It prompted McGregor to twist his rival's words against him and openly question whether that meant that COVID-19 was good and Nurmagomedov's late father was evil.
His tweet, which was quickly deleted, received universal condemnation from the MMA community.
Conor McGregor's last UFC win
Conor McGregor is currently on a two-fight losing streak, having suffered back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier. The second defeat sidelined McGregor with a broken leg for over two years.
While he is now expected to return against Michael Chandler at UFC 300, who did he last beat?
As it turns out, the Irishman's last MMA win came against Donald Cerrone in 2020, who was on a losing streak and is currently retired. The win saw McGregor flatten 'Cowboy' within 40 seconds of the first round.