Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has been outspoken about his belief that Conor McGregor has seen the last of his days in mixed martial arts and advocates for the MMA to stop supporting McGregor after his recent loss to Dustin Poirier.

Prior to Nurmagomedov’s retirement in 2020, he defeated McGregor in a 2018 title fight. Both before and after the fight, things got chaotic. McGregor threw an object at the bus Nurmagomedov was on and insulted Nurmagomedov’s wife, father and religion. Nurmagomedov famously leaped out of the octagon and confronted McGregor’s team after defeating him.

On Saturday, July 10, McGregor lost to Poirier at UFC 264 after a doctor stoppage was implemented due to McGregor breaking his leg. Even after the loss, McGregor directed threats and insults at Poirier. Nurmagomedov claims the sport will be damaged if they continue to support McGregor. He believes McGregor will not see any more success in the future.

“Money and fame show who you are. All the time we hear that money and fame change people. No. When money and fame come, these two things show who you are. And what has McGregor done? He punched an old guy in a bar in 2019. You guys can watch everything he did and understand, it’s just like Dustin said, ‘This guy is a bag of s—,'” said Nurmagomedov in an interview with ESPN.

Nurmagomedov’s statement continued, “I saw a lot of tweets try to support him. How are you gonna support this guy? When kids, young generation watch him, watch this sport? If you want to promote your fight, promote. If the MMA community is going to support this bad people, this sport is going to go in a bad way.”

Nurmagomedov discussed McGregor’s current level of fighting and does not believe his old rival will ever return to his peak performance due to a ‘lack of hunger’ and the recent leg injury.

“Without broken legs, yes, he could be the same,” Nurmagomedov said. “But with broken legs, he’s never going to kick the same. With him, no, I don’t believe he’ll return to the top. Conor have good age 32, but what happened with his mind, legs — this guy is finished, but he’s good for promotion.”

Nurmagomedov went on to predict McGregor would be provided a matchup with either Poirier or Nate Diaz next but expects him to lose no matter the opponent.

Conor McGregor (22-5) returns to the octagon to fight Dustin Poirier (27-6) in a highly-anticipated trilogy bout at UFC 264.

Their first meeting took place in 2014 and it resulted in McGregor defeating “The Diamond” in the first round. Earlier this January at UFC 257, it was Poirier who took the win with a second-round KO over McGregor. Now McGregor gets another opportunity to step back in the cage for a third bout against “The Diamond.”

It’s a pivotal moment in McGregor’s career because he has never lost consecutive MMA bouts. In 2016, he avenged a second-round submission defeat to Nate Diaz by defeating him five months later by majority decision. The fight also matters to the Irish fighter because a defeat will surely relegate him from the list of possible title contenders at 155 pounds.

The two will fight at UFC 264 on Saturday, July 10. The McGregor vs Poirier trilogy bout will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be in front of a full-capacity crowd featuring close to 20,000 fans. UFC 264 is the first UFC-hosted full-capacity event in Las Vegas since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

The Full Fight Card will feature:

Early Prelims

Jennifer Maia (18-7-1) vs. Jessica Eye (15-9-0)

Omari Akhmedov (21-5-1) vs. Brad Tavares (18-7-0)

Zhalgas Zhumagulov (13-5-0) vs. Jerome Rivera (10-5-0)

Alen Amedovski (3-2-0) vs. Hu Yaozong (8-2-0)

Prelims

Carlos Condit (32-13-0) vs. Max Griffin (17-8-0)

Niko Price (14-4-0) vs. Michel Pereira (25-11-0)

Ryan Hall (8-1-0) vs. Ilia Topuria (10-0-0)

Dricus du Plessis (15-2-0) vs. Trevin Giles (14-2-0)

Main Event

Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor

Gilbert Burns (19-4-0) vs. Stephen Thompson (16-4-1)

Tai Tuivasa (12-3-0) vs. Greg Hardy (7-3-0)

Irene Aldana (12-6-0) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (14-5-0)

Sean O’Malley (13-1-0) vs. Kris Moutinho (9-4-0)