When Khabib Nurmagomedov forbade Daniel Cormier to utter Conor McGregor's name
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor is arguably the ugliest rivalry in the sport of mixed martial arts. With the amount of bad blood between them, it is hard for MMA fans to imagine a day when the two individuals will decide to bury the hatchet and move on.
The rivalry was so intense that at one point in time, Nurmagomedov did not even want his friend and teammate Daniel Cormier to utter McGregor's name in front of them.
Although the interaction appeared humorous, 'The Eagle' asked Cormier not to say the Irishman's name in an old video.
"You can't say his name, brother. He does not deserve [for] you to say his name," said Khabib Nurmagomedov.
'DC' then went on to argue that although Nurmagomedov had defeated 'The Notorious' at UFC 229, McGregor had still achieved historic feats in the UFC octagon. This included defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 to become the first-ever fighter to hold two simultaneous belts in the promotion.
"Hey, listen to me. This guy, this is important okay, you smashed this guy but now, this guy, this guy's the first double-champion. This guy killed Alvarez... So, let me ask you a question. Even though you don't like this guy, you respect that this guy do some good things? [Nurmagomedov replies in the negative] He do good things sometimes in the octagon," replied Daniel Cormier.
You can watch their interaction below:
After the long build-up, 'The Eagle' and McGregor eventually fought at UFC 229 in October 2019. Nurmagomedov outclassed 'Mystic Mac' for the majority of the fight and won the contest via fourth-round submission.
The bad blood between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor reached its boiling point three years ago today.
Following a venomous buildup to the fight, Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in the fourth round at UFC 229. pic.twitter.com/fsQMs3PnO3
Khabib Nurmagomedov's legacy in UFC
Former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is considered by many as the greatest lightweight fighter to grace the UFC octagon. Some MMA experts even put his name in the 'GOAT' debate.
During his fighting days, the Dagestani was a dominant force in the UFC. 'The Eagle' used to rely on his grappling prowess to outclass his opponents and rarely faced much difficulty in defeating them.
The 34-year-old competed won all 13 of his UFC fights and retired from the sport with an impeccable 29-0 record. Nurmagomedov's winning resume included names like Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Al Iaquinta, Rafael dos Anjos, and Edson Barboza.
After his victory over Gaethje in October 2020, 'the Eagle' announced his retirement from the sport.