Former UFC champ Conor McGregor took aim at ex-President Donald Trump for the selection he made when picking his favorite UFC fighter.
During a viral interview, with 23-year-old Adin Ross, the influencer inquired about Trump’s love for MMA.
“I know you’re a UFC fan; who are your favorite fighters?” Ross asked.
“I think Khabib [Nurmagomedov] … you know who Khabib is?” Trump questioned. “Khabib was 29-0 … but I don’t think he ever lost a round. I think he was great.”
Donald Trump says Khabib Nurmagomedov is his favorite UFC fighter, and details the conversation he had with him about the war between Russia and Ukraine
🎥 KICK / @adinross #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/h8pH72WaVT
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 5, 2024
The Republican nominee reminisced about meeting Khabib at UFC 302 in June 2024.
At the time, Nurmagomedov questioned him about the Israel-Palestine conflict and later, the Russia-Ukraine war.
“I met Khabib, and [he said], ‘You’re the man who can stop the war,’ the war with Ukraine and Russia.”
Conor McGregor raging against Trump because Trump said his favorite fighter is Khabib Nurmagomedov is the funniest thing on my timeline right now pic.twitter.com/AKRz30dp7A
— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) August 6, 2024
“Because he knows there [are] people on both sides, with so many people dying on both sides,” Trump noted.
“We weren’t talking about fighting, we were talking about a different kind of fighting, a much worse kind of fighting. He was very concerned about that whole thing.”
When McGregor saw the viral interview he was apparently furious about Trump’s choice in fighters, who he fought and was beaten by at UFC 229 in 2018.
In several since-deleted tweets, McGregor slammed Trump for favoring Nurmagomedov over American fighters.
“Campaign ending decision. A smelly fat mountain monkey from inbred mountains of Dagestan is your favorite UFC (AMERICAN COMPANY) fighter? Wow. Abysmal,” McGregor initially posted.
McGregor also challenged Trump’s billionaire status and questioned why an American presidential candidate wouldn’t favor a fighter from the United States.
“I was actually wrong. Couple hundred million he is worth. Not multi B. I would have thought USA ONLY would be the mentality here and what I would want to see out of my president, personally,” McGregor reportedly wrote.
“Over all the American fighters that have backed him. It’s a shocking decision. He was caught on the spot,” the Irish fighter continued.
“That won’t go unnoticed on the roster. This presidential race is very tight right now. More so now.”
McGregor escalated his attack with a deleted photo of Nurmagomedov and his training partners in a hot tub.
“Trumps favorite fighter. Here he is in a tiny tub with his fellow inbred pals in Dagestan. Can you spot him? Where’s Khabib? Find Khabib,” McGregor went on.
“To pick a retired inbred fighter from Dagestan Russia who has 3 main events only to his name is astounding.”
In other fighting news, a boxer with two failed gender eligibility tests crushed the competition in the women’s welterweight final Olympic boxing match to take home the gold medal on Friday.
BREAKING
Imane Khelif has won the gold medal at the Olympics in Paris. pic.twitter.com/RpfpiToDcw
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 9, 2024
Algeria’s Imane Khelif faced China’s Yang Liu in the final match, winning every round. The controversial athlete remained undefeated throughout the Paris Olympics, securing each judge’s card.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Khelif to compete in the women’s division even thought she failed gender testing in 2019 and 2023.
“As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters at a press conference.
He also downplayed the importance of testosterone levels in determining gender eligibility.
“Many women can have testosterone which will be called ‘male levels’ and still be women and still compete as women,” he noted.
“This idea that you do one test for testosterone and that sorts everything out? Not the case, I’m afraid.”
The decision sparked outrage on social media, with figures like Megyn Kelly and Piers Morgan voicing their discontent.
“Don’t you see? Don’t you see what this insanity is doing to women??” Kelly tweeted. “WHY DO GIRLS HAVE
To all the media who have FAILED WOMEN AT EVERY TURN on this boxing and virtually EVERY trans story: SHAME ON YOU ALL
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) August 9, 2024
TO SHARE THEIR BATHROOMS W/BOYS? THEIR LOCKER ROOMS? THEIR SPORTS? THEIR PRISONS?”
“WHY DO 4th GRADE BOYS HAVE TO SHARE THEIRS W/GIRLS (& THEIR TAMPONS) IN MN?” she added in what was seemingly a shot at Kamala Harris VP pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. “NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL, SAFE OR FAIR.”
“To all the media who have FAILED WOMEN AT EVERY TURN on this boxing and virtually EVERY trans story: SHAME ON YOU ALL,” Kelly raged on.
Fox News host Piers Morgan labeled Khelif’s victory a “travesty.”
“From Emmeline Pankhurst to this… where are the world’s feminists now, as women’s hard-fought rights get so shamefully destroyed?” he posted.
“BREAKING: A biological male just won an Olympic Gold medal in a women’s boxing competition. Congrats to everyone who supported this travesty,” Morgan added.
BREAKING: A biological male just won an Olympic Gold medal in a women’s boxing competition. Congrats to everyone who supported this travesty. 👏 pic.twitter.com/IFwGzeFJZD
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 9, 2024
When an X user argued that Khelif was female, Morgan underscored laid out the facts. “Imane was banned from the World Championships after testing positive for male XY chromosomes.”
“[Imane] didn’t appeal it,” he added. “If [Imane’s] a biological woman, [Imane] should take another test now and prove it. Spoiler alert: [Imane] won’t.”
Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who was beaten by transgender swimmer Lea Thomas in the NCAA championship, posted, “Khelif (XY) dominated World Champion Lang Liu (XX) to win an Olympic gold medal.”
“Let me repeat that: a MALE has taken a WOMAN’S Olympic gold,” Gaines emphasized.
“This is what they call this ‘progress,’” she noted. “It’s the ultimate betrayal of fairness, safety, and women by [IOCmedia].”