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Khabib Calls Conor McGregor 'Evil' for Deleted Tweet About Deceased Father

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVAugust 5, 2021

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 25:  Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia enters the Octagon prior to his lightweight title bout against Justin Gaethje during the UFC 254 event on October 25, 2020 on UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov thought longtime rival Conor McGregor crossed a clear line with a since-deleted tweet that many thought referenced Khabib's late father, Abdulmanap.

"When [Conor] talked about this, only evil can talk about your father, wife, kids, religion," Nurmagomedov said on Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson (via TMZ Sports). "If you're normal human, you're never going to talk about this stuff."

After McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10, Khabib tweeted that "Good always defeats evil."

khabib nurmagomedov @TeamKhabib

Good always defeats evil.<br>Very happy for <a href="https://twitter.com/DustinPoirier?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DustinPoirier</a> I hope you will get the belt end of the year

On Monday, McGregor tweeted and subsequently deleted, "Covid is good and father is evil?"

Abdulmanap died in July 2020 after experiencing complications stemming from his COVID-19 diagnosis.

Khabib took the death of his father hard. He unexpectedly retired immediately after his victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020 and said at the time "there's no way I'm going to be back without my father."

McGregor has made his career in part on insulting his opponents and their camps to generate more attention for his fights. Khabib isn't an exception.

Prior to his encounter with the unbeaten legend at UFC 229, he called Nurmagomedov's trainer, Ali Abdelaziz, a "snitch terrorist rat." McGregor also targeted Nurmagomedov's wife in a since-deleted tweet in 2019.

In an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto last October, Nurmagomedov said he would turn down $5 billion to be involved in a season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite McGregor. After the Irish star's recent Twitter post, that stance probably remains unchanged.