Ben Askren believes Conor McGregor’s constant shots at Khabib Nurmagomedov are fueled by jealousy.
McGregor and Nurmagomedov competed in the highest-selling pay-per-view event in UFC history when they squared off in a title fight at UFC 229. The build-up was ugly, but Nurmagomedov got the last laugh when he submitted McGregor to retain his lightweight belt. Nurmagomedov couldn’t contain himself after finishing McGregor as he immediately jumped the fence to attack his corner. A brawl ensued between the two teams, and the bad blood is very much alive from McGregor’s side.
McGregor accused Nurmagomedov of running from competition when he retired in October 2020 and has continuously insulted him – most recently after hearing the rumors of Nurmagomedov allegedly underpaying his businesses’ taxes.
“That’s typical rat behavior,” McGregor said in a livestream with Duelbits. “Scurrying rat. Fight for legacy, two main events or something he has in the UFC, and he owes his b*llocks to the Russian government.
“So, he’s going to pay his f*cking money that he owes instead of siphoning it out through to other countries. I’m ecstatic and delighted that that’s coming on top of him, and we will all welcome him back into the fight game where he’s ran from.”
Askren is not surprised to see McGregor go after Nurmagomedov and theorizes that “The Eagle” is everything he wishes he was.
“He’ll never not do that, ever,” Askren said of McGregor on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “He’s going to be 80 years old attacking Khabib because he’s jealous, of course. No doubt in my mind at all. He’s got all the money in the world. Deep down in his heart, what he wanted to be was the most respected fighting champion on planet earth.
“No money can make up for that. That’s what Khabib is. Khabib is a fighting champion that everyone has a deep amount of respect for because of the way he lived his life. Conor wishes that he had that much respect for himself, but he is too busy with prostitutes and cocaine that he just can’t control himself. So, of course he’s jealous of Khabib.”
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) returns from an almost three-year long layoff in a welterweight bout against Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at UFC 303 June 29 in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
