Khabib hits back, calls McGregor 'greatest UFC fighter in Twitter history'
Both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones made cases for why Conor McGregor does not belong on his own list of the greatest MMA fighters.
Published : May 24, 2020 16:12 IST
Khabib Nurmagomedov branded Conor McGregor the "greatest UFC fighter in Twitter history" in response to his rival's GOAT list posted on social media.
Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion McGregor revealed his top four on Saturday, putting Anderson Silva at number one but making clear the Brazilian has some stiff competition to be considered the greatest - from the Irishman himself, of course.
"My array of finishes, across 3 divisions, with champion status in 2, I'm No.2. If not tied 1," McGregor wrote on Twitter. "However [I'm] still active, No.1 is fully secured by career end. And easily."
Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones also made the list, but there was no place for undefeated lightweight champion Khabib.
Asked to explain the Russian's absence, McGregor replied: "Fancy record but a way to go before any GOAT entry.
"Only HL [highlight] is win over me with hangover and broken foot. Other than that, made Iaquinta's career with bad performance before Cerrone ended it again. 3rds to get Poirier out. 0 array of finishes. Bottled many bouts. Zero else of note."
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Khabib, who defeated McGregor by submission at UFC 229 in 2018, countered with a tweet of his own, pointing out what he perceives to be fundamental flaws in McGregor's own case.
"You tapped out in featherweight, you tapped out in lightweight and you tapped in welterweight," Khabib wrote.
"You never defended title in the UFC or Cage Warriors, you gave up more than GSP, Spider and Bones all together. You greatest UFC fighter in Twitter history."
Jones also got involved in the debate, putting up a list of fighters to have the most wins in UFC title bouts - with McGregor obviously not among them - along with the comment: "Goat where you at."
The light-heavyweight champion also later quote-tweeted Khabib's post, adding: "Like I said I’ll let the fans do the debating for me, thanks Khabib."