"He's not like Conor McGregor - trash" - Ali Abdelaziz says Khabib Nurmagomedov has no 'bad blood' with Charles Oliveira
Khabib Nurmagomedov has been quite vocal in promoting his protégé Islam Makhachev's upcoming UFC 280 title fight against Charles Oliveira. Some of it might even come across as disrespectful towards Oliveira's home country, Brazil.
Interviewer Luis Coutinho raised the matter in a recent interview with Ali Abdelaziz for Canal Encarada. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev's manager assured the fans that their team has the utmost respect for the Brazilians and the trash-talking was merely done from a business point-of-view.
"It's just a big brother supporting his little brother. People have to understand this. We love Brazil. Khabib [Nurmagomedov] loves Brazil... We like Charles Oliveira. He's a great guy. But right now, when he signed the contract, he's the enemy. And Islam [Makhachev] is his enemy. But in the battlefield, you respect your enemy. You have to have rules, you have to have honor."
Abdelaziz added that he believes Oliveira to be a good human being, or at least a far better one than "trash" Conor McGregor. He also stated that he comes from similar "humble beginnings" as Oliveira, which somewhat makes them kindred spirits.
"There's no bad blood. Whatever happens after this fight, we will shake hands and congratulate each other. 100%. I think Charles Oliveira is not a bad person. He is not like Conor McGregor - trash... We come from humble beginning [like Oliveira]. We understand the struggle."
Abdelaziz went on to acknowledge Oliveira as the UFC lightweight champion.
Watch the interview below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov had some harsh words for Jose Aldo
Though his manager claimed that he has no intention of insulting Brazilians, Khabib Nurmagomedov did once say some less-than-respectful comments about Jose Aldo.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was asked to comment on Aldo's win over Pedro Munoz at a Gorilla Fighting Championship (currently Eagle FC) press conference. 'The Eagle' dismissed the Brazilian legend's achievement by bringing up his loss to Petr Yan and also took a shot at Conor McGregor at the same time:
"A guy wins one fight and everyone starts talking. When Conor [McGregor] fought [Donald] ‘Cowboy’ [Cerrone], he looked like a lion. When he fights stronger opponents, he looks like a scared chicken."
The UFC Hall-of-Famer added:
"You saw what he [Jose Aldo] did [at the Petr Yan fight], he closed up and waited for the ref to stop the fight. That shows you're not at your peak. If you're getting hit and you're conscious and you're not defending yourself... I call those fighters businessmen, they come out to make money... there's no Way Aldo's having a second peak."
Watch the segment below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov's words did not sit well with Conor McGregor and he fired back with retorts in tweets that have since been deleted.
"You ran away and now all you do is talk like b*tch. Aldo is 100 times the fighter you are, and never will be," McGregor said, among other things.
Take a look at the deleted tweets here.
The Irishman's reprimand of his arch nemesis certainly rings a bit ironic, given that he himself rarely held his tongue ahead of his fight with the 'King of Rio'. However, since their fight that lasted all of 13 seconds, McGregor has been quite respectful of Aldo, and Aldo has returned the favor wholeheartedly.