“It is a bit ignorant”: Irish Fighter Calls Out Team Khabib Nurmagomedov for Arrogance After The Eagle’s Comment Belittling MMA in Ireland

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s claim that Irish MMA’s quality and depth is not even comparable to what the sport has in Dagestan seems to have touched one too many nerves. After Paul Hughes and Conor McGregor, Irish PFL fighter Nathan Kelly has jumped in to criticize The Eagle.

Kelly stated that the comment, which he felt was “ignorant”, unfairly put skilled Irish fighters such as him in poor light. 

“I do believe that he believes that it is true. I think them lads have a bit of an arrogance about them. They think that they’re the best thing since sliced bread…Ultimately, I think it is a bit ignorant. I think he is going off what he has experienced himself,” Kelly said in conversation with Mike Owens on Inside Fighting.

Kelly added that he is part of a ‘new wave’ of fighters from Ireland who are more well-rounded and skilled enough to go toe-to-toe with the best in the business. 

Khabib’s words were indeed an unjust generalization.

“Ireland don’t have fighters, brother. Let’s be honest. How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor, and who else?… Dagestan level of MMA here but Ireland… not even half,” the former UFC champion had said recently.

However Khabib, and UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev later, were also highlighting a fact when they spoke about Dagestan’s supremacy in combat sports. Islam had recently explained how wrestling and sambo is entrenched in Dagestani culture. The region has been a powerhouse in both sports.

Wrestling, especially, has been their primary sport for decades. Dagestan has produced many Olympic medalists and world champions for Russia, and even other countries. Makhachev, in his comment, had described how almost every kid in Dagestan wants to be a wrestler.

“When I was young, we wrestled everywhere, in school, on the streets, and in the village. I am a good wrestler because I am from Dagestan. In some countries, kids play soccer but in our republic, when we are kids, we start wrestling. You need to wrestle all your life… You can ask some driver, you know, Uber driver, everybody was a wrestler before,” Makhachev told ESPN in an interview in January 2024.

Ireland, on the other hand, has traditionally excelled in sports such as Rugby, soccer, cricket, and boxing. The country’s love with MMA is only a recent phenomenon. That said, the Irish do have a structured grassroots programme for the sport which has produced some good fighters in the years after McGregor’s dominance.

So Khabib’s take on the Irish MMA scene is not reflective of how the sport has strengthened its foothold in the country in recent years.

Maybe The Eagle was hyping up the upcoming Bellator lightweight title fight between Hughes and Usman Nurmagomedov. The comment could also be partly stemming from his hatred for McGregor.

After Khabib’s provocative words, the fighters from Ireland would be on a mission to set the narrative straight.

Khabib could be proven wrong

While commenting, Khabib possibly did not think of UFC welterweight Ian Garry, one of the most promising fighters in the world in his category. Very recently, he fought the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 and almost choked the Kazakh boogeyman to submission.

While Garry lost the fight, his stocks only rose after that performance. Garry might not be fighting for the title at the next PPV he is part of. But a title shot would surely come his way in the future.

However, Garry’s ascendence will take time. Khabib’s remarks could come back to bite him sooner. If PFL’s Hughes beat Khabib’s cousin Usman for the Bellator lightweight title on January 25 that is.