Conor McGregor chimes in on Khabib’s retirement: ‘Never forget who … made you’

Conor McGregor refuses to let Khabib Nurmagomedov retire in peace.

McGregor, who was submitted in the fourth round by lightweight champion Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, has been campaigning for a rematch ever since their October 2018 fight. “The Notorious” is the only man to ever take a round from Nurmagomedov, but it was otherwise an overall dominant performance for Nurmagomedov.

The heated rivalry and build-up resulted in a record-breaking 2.4 million pay-per-view buys, catapulting Nurmagomedov into one of MMA’s biggest stars. And in wake of Nurmagomedov’s official retirement Thursday, McGregor made sure to remind him of the role he played in his ascent to stardom.

After Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor, a massive brawl ensued, which resulted in both men getting suspended. The aftermath had many pondering if there was unfinished business, but Nurmagomedov made it clear that he never had any interest in running things back with McGregor, whom he deemed undeserving. McGregor recently said Nurmagomedov retired because he was “afraid” of the rematch.

McGregor rebounded from the Nurmagomedov loss with a 40-second finish of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, setting him up with a rematch against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. UFC president Dana White’s interest in a rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor was a reason why he continued to pursue his return, but after Poirier played spoiler with a TKO of McGregor, the idea fizzled out.

Nurmagomedov hung up his gloves after a perfect career, capping things off with another spectacular finish against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October. After multiple meetings with White, Nurmagomedov stood firm on his decision as the lightweight division is set to officially crown a new champion when Charles Oliveira faces Michael Chandler in the UFC 262 main event on May 15.

McGregor, on the other hand, is in talks of completing a trilogy with Poirier, which is projected to take place in summer.