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The Story Behind The Picture Of McGregor And Khabib Shows How Times Have Changed Between The UFC Stars

The Story Behind The Picture Of McGregor And Khabib Shows How Times Have Changed Between The UFC Stars

At the time, the two fighters were budding UFC stars.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

The pleasant Twitter exchange between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov from 2014 shows how times have changed.

The two are fierce rivals following their explosive meeting at UFC 229 in October 2018, but they were pals when both fighters were rising through the ranks.

At UFC 178 in September 2014, McGregor made his Las Vegas debut. He destroyed Dustin Poirier in under two minutes to record an impressive victory.

And in the build-up to his bout, McGregor received a message from Nurmagomedov who commented on the Irishman's 'Dethone' range.

"I like this t-shirt, I need," the Russian said to which McGregor replied: "My man Khabib!!!"

Nurmagomedov then tweeted: "Hey Conor, I'm in Vegas when you come let me know, I want you gave me this shirt."

McGregor wrote back: "Lets do it brother!! I fly out to Vegas tomorrow!! Hit me up and we can train :-)"

Image: Twitter
Image: Twitter

How times have changed. A far cry from now.

McGregor made a triumphant Octagon return when he took care of Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds in January at UFC 246.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, has since defended his UFC lightweight title against Poirier and was scheduled to face Tony Ferguson until the coronavirus crisis prevented him from taking part at UFC 249.

McGregor offered his condolences to Nurmagomedov after the death of his father, Abdulmanap.

A rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor had been mooted until The Notorious' sudden retirement.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor Mcgregor, UFC News, Fight News, UFC

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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