Usman Nurmagomedov hopes the Dagestan vs. Ireland comparison remains purely about MMA.
Usman’s cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov, riled up the Irish fighters and fans when he said that unlike Dagestan, Ireland hasn’t really produced anyone of note outside of Conor McGregor and Paul Hughes.
Nurmagomedov agrees, but doesn’t like how the debate has transcended MMA.
“If we’re talking about levels, of course we can talk a lot, but we have facts,” Nurmagomedov told MMA Junkie. “Bellator champion: Some Irish have Bellator champions? No. PFL, no. UFC, no. In PFL, we have champions, in Bellator we have champions – and not only one. In PFL, we have two or three. In Bellator, we have two or three, and in the UFC, soon Umar will be the second one and Islam Makhachev we have. If we talk only about sport, MMA, Dagestan, Russia, we’re different level.
“But other things, I don’t want to talk or touch about people or nation. Some people don’t understand, when you say, like, level different, they start talking sh*t, you know? This is not good. We’re not talking about a nation or something. We’re just talking about MMA levels, you know? And that’s it, nothing else, nothing more. And we stay within this border now. We don’t go outside the border and talk sh*t about people, no. We’re just talking about levels in MMA. Fighters from Ireland and Russia, and that’s it.”
Nurmagomedov (18-0) defends his lightweight title against Hughes (13-1) in the Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai main event on Jan. 25.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai.
