Hotel altercation before UFC 304, Conor McGregor leaks DMs to Khabib Nurmagomedov: MMA News Roundup
A brawl broke out between teams of two UFC 304 fighters at the hotel ahead of the pay-per-view event. Elsewhere, Conor McGregor leaked taunting DMs sent to Khabib Nurmagomedov amid tax fraud controversy.
Check out today's top combat sports updates with Sportskeeda MMA's MMA News Roundup.
Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev's teams break out in an altercation
Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev's team allegedly had an altercation at the fighter hotel ahead of UFC 304.
That comes after both parties engaged in hostile back-and-forth on social media for weeks. There were also rumors of them going at it at the UFC Performance Institute, but Kape recently claimed that it was an exaggeration.
After the hotel brawl video went viral, Kape wrote on X that Mokaev had "betrayed" him after asking for a photo:
"What kind of Muslim are you? You gave me Salam asked to take a picture and then tried to punch me in the betrayal, I can see now you are not a child of the (Dagestan), because there are created men you are just a poor bast**d raised on a low income in Manchester without honor and principles."
Mokaev responded on Instagram:
"That's what happens in life. ... You were not taught how to fight."
The two clash on the preliminary card of Saturday's UFC 304 pay-per-view event in Manchester, U.K.
Conor McGregor taunts Khabib Nurmagomedov about tax controversy
Khabib Nurmagomedov has recently been under legal scrutiny by Russia's tax authorities for potential evasion. He has reportedly racked up to a million in debt and subsequently had his assets frozen.
An RT report stated earlier this month that his prized car collection and family house could also be taken. To nobody's surprise, his UFC arch-rival Conor McGregor took to X to taunt 'The Eagle' about the situation on Thursday.
He shared what seemed like a screenshot of a series of direct messages to Nurmagomedov on social media, where the UFC megastar says:
"Brotha I just put in to buy your family home off [the] government because you can't afford I plan on big smelly Irish sh*t."
McGregor continued:
"Brotha where is the toilet roll?"
The tweet has since been deleted. Take a look at the screenshot below:
Why Paddy Pimblett almost pulled out of UFC 304
Paddy Pimblett's mental health hit such a rock bottom that he almost missed the upcoming UFC 304 fight against King Green. 'Baddy' told SkySports that up until recently, he struggled so much with the fight camp that his coaches considered pulling him out of the fight:
"About five or six weeks ago my coach was thinking about pulling me out. Mentally, I wasn't there. I said a couple of weeks ago, 'This is gonna be the worst fight camp of my life.' And up until two or three weeks ago, it was."
Many fans claimed that Pimblett's drastic weight gain tendencies are to be blamed for the struggle.
Watch Paddy Pimblett's comments below:
Kamaru Usman predicts Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2
Kamaru Usman, who has fought Leon Edwards twice before, has offered his official prediction for the Brit's rematch with Belal Muhammad at UFC 304. Speaking on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, the former welterweight champion picked Edwards to defend the belt.
"(Leon Edwards) is starting to make his groove as champion... Leon is working on just staying there. So, I'm gonna I'm gonna stay with Leon for this one. I think Leon might be able to pull this one out."
However, he also stated that Muhammad could get it done if he is not "shaken by any flashy technique" and sticks to his guns on Saturday.
Watch Kamaru Usman's comments below (35:57):