Fans believe Islam Makhachev lives "rent free" in Conor McGregor's head after the UFC superstar took aim at his rival in a deleted tweet.
McGregor has not fought inside the octagon since last July where he broke his leg in a second consecutive defeat to Dustin Poirier. However he has had many public online battles which include deleted tweet crusades aimed at former opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov and most recently Makhachev.
Makhachev is friends with McGregor's bitter rival Nurmagomedov and is seen as the protege to the undefeated former champion, who has taken the rising star under his wing. McGregor hit out at Makhachev on social media last night with a fresh insult that has now been deleted, tweeting: "The Makhachevs" with an image of what appears to be a nipple on someone's leg with the caption: "When your parents are cousins".
Fans have been quick to respond to the tweet with one commenting: "The Khabib family is still living inside this man's head lmao." Another fan agreed: "Dagestani's live rent free in his head." One fan simply added: "Rent free." One was more angered: "That is all he can do now. Insult them from far away. One fan also agreed: "That's wild disrespectful."
However some fans defended McGregor's actions with one fan adding: "Conor woke up and chose violence." One fan said: "That is funny even though he would beg for mercy if they ever fought." One fan even believes McGregor will support Charles Oliveira in his upcoming meeting with Makhachev, adding: " Conor McGregor is team Charles later this year."
One final fan concluded: "I am starting to think that he retired because of Islam lol. He saw Islam Makhachev fighting for the title and was like 'hell no not again, I will stay retired." It is not the first time McGregor has taken a dig at Makhachev having vowed to end his hype by returning to 155lb to beat him in a potential contest.
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McGregor has also been known to criticise Dagestan when he labelled Khabib Nurmagomedov a "smelly inbred" before alleging the region are known for 'inbreeding' by posting an image of a google search. The pair have not responded but rising star Muhammad Mokaev, who also originates from Dagestan, hit out at McGregor for previous comments aimed at the region and demanded an apology before eventually backtracking.
Makhachev has called out McGregor in the past when he fought Bobby Green during his rise at 155lb, but the Russian fighter has laughed off speculation of any high-profile showdown. “He just plays games, he’s never gonna take this fight," Makhachev said previously. "He’s just playing games a little bit, he knows it’s gonna be a long night for him.
"What Khabib did to him, I will do the same because he’s not the same now. When he fought with Khabib, he was in good shape – not drinking too much. But now, he has to retire. If he wants to come back, let’s do it. I will be happy to smash him."
