The Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov feud took on such epic proportions that its infamy was felt beyond the realms of the UFC, and the sport. The community is still uncomfortable talking about the brawl that brought mixed martial arts into disrepute, and left many fighters in a flux, split between the two camps. Their loyalty, and in many ways, their ethics as martial artists are still tested when the incident is brought up.
Daniel Cormier, for instance, has not moved on. So much so that the double champ, a good friend of Khabib, refuses to interview McGregor.
Of course, DC is on cordial terms with the Irishman. However, Conor’s deep-rooted hatred for Nurmagomedov is something that Cormier could not accept.
“Look at the stance he has taken in regards to you and everybody you deal with so things have changed now, I do this and I don’t try to request (Conor) McGregor for interviews, I don’t that I’d get him but I’m just saying it’s not a request I make every time I’m there. Because honestly, Khabib’s not just a teammate, he’s family and they’re like that with everyone,” he said on a YouTube video.
Once, DC had an impromptu conversation while ‘The Notorious’ was preparing to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. It was 2021, three years after the brawl. But the wounds were still fresh for Khabib, who neither could understand, nor appreciate his friend Cormier talking to McGregor. DC divulged Nurmagomedov’s words:
“‘Brother, I don’t understand this! If I see Conor with his wife, I’ll shake his hand, because that’s what you’re supposed to do. But brother…’”
Though Cormier was confused with the reaction at first, it later dawned on him what Nurmagomedov’s question meant. DC and McGregor have never been seen together since then.
In fight sport, friendships as well as enmity, are set in concrete. DC will not talk or even acknowledge McGregor, displaying his love and loyalty to Nurmagomedov. The Russian recently revealed that he never befriended Jon Jones to respect Cormier’s rivalry with him.
“Jones can’t be my friend”, Nurmagomedov explains why
From hotel brawls to personal attacks, Cormier and Jones have a history of bitterness eclipsed only by the Khabib-Conor feud. The two have fought twice in the octagon, in 2015 and 2017, with Jones winning on both occasions.
But the animosity continued beyond the happenings around those bouts. And Khabib has been clear as to how much respect he would accord to Jones, considering the bad blood between him and DC.
Responding to a clip of Jones in which the heavyweight champ named him as an all-time top-five UFC fighter, the Dagestani wrote on Instagram:
“I never had any disagreements with Jones. As a fighter, he is great, and it will be hard to match him. But my friend Cormier is in conflict with him, so Jones can’t be my friend. I don’t befriend those who aren’t friends with my friends.”
This statement reveals quite a lot about the bond shared by Nurmagomedov and Cormier as well as about the true essence of martial arts.
The business is about beating each other to win, for sure. However, friendships and the bonds formed in and around the fighting arena makes the sport real, and brimming with values. Then again, with emotions raging, the same level of intense involvement occurs in conflicts too… like how things transpired in the Conor-Khabib infamous tussle.
