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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Ben Davies

Conor McGregor challenges social media star Hasbulla to sparring match

Conor McGregor has challenged social media star Hasbulla to a sparring bout with "big gloves" as the pair continue to feud online.

The Notorious hasn't fought since breaking his leg in a UFC defeat to Dustin Poirier last year, his second of 2021 to the American.

McGregor has frequently been trading verbal barbs with rivals online, including Hasbulla. The Russian star rose to fame on social media and suffers with growth hormone deficiency (GHD), but is known for being good friends with the Dubliner's bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, reports The Mirror.

McGregor first hit out at Hasbulla branding him a "little smelly inbred" before threatening to kick him over goal posts. His 19-year-old rival was enraged by the comments and hit back online demanding that UFC president Dana White lets him fight McGregor in the cage.

READ MORE: Coolio stunned punters with live performance in Conor McGregor's pub months before death

And McGregor has now demanded a similar thing on social media but in a sparring format, when he tweeted and deleted: "Let me spar Hasbulla UFC. Big gloves and a friendly affair I swear." Hasbulla is yet to respond to the comments in public but will likely accept the offer given his intent to get his hands on the man he has frequently branded a "chicken".

UFC kingpin White has previously discussed the idea of Hasbulla fighting in a cage, with the young star keen to settle his rivalry with Abdu Rozik in a UFC fight. However the Russian has only signed a recent lucrative UFC deal to appear as a media representative and is unlikely to ever step foot in the octagon as a competitor.

(Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

White has explained this is largely down to the decision of Hasbulla's dad who is unlikely to let him fight over fears for his safety. "I don't know if he wants to get involved," White said on Pardon My Take. "From what I hear, his father is super protective of him. If that's the case, you don't want your kid fighting."

The high-profile star has seen videos of himself amass over three billion views online and he also has three million Instagram followers. This has raised the intrigue around his feud with McGregor even more, having initially responded: "I don’t follow bums… didn’t know someone was running their mouth, @ me next time".

He then added in a later fight call-out: "I have my UFC contract now, if Conor McGregor is really a man… see me in Abu Dhabi. Got smashed by Khabib already. Guess his money from Mayweather ran out and he needs more attention". McGregor then responded again posting a picture of a children's toy with Hasbulla's face photoshopped on it with the caption: "Now what you saying you little gimp."

Hasbulla then hit back for a final time on Twitter, writing: "Hey uncle @danawhite and @ufc please make it happen, let me eat this chicken @TheNotoriousMMA. I'm hungry, I’ll smash him with my mountain spirit. My brother @TeamKhabib smashed him and all his team, now is my time to rise! #HasbullaTime #CantDeleteMyTweetsConor."

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