‘He still dropped you’: Conor McGregor invites mockery with claim that ‘teddy bear’ Khabib has ‘zero power’

Khabib Nurmagomedov may be officially gone from the active UFC ranks but he is certainly not forgotten – with former foe Conor McGregor continuing to take parting shots at the retired Russian legend.

Khabib’s tenure as ruler of the UFC’s I55lbs fold formally came to an end last week with the news from Dana White that he had finally accepted the retirement announcement which the Dagestani grappling sensation had made five months previously in the aftermath of his victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.  

White’s statement drew a sarcastic message from Khabib’s former foe McGregor, in which the Irishman wished him “a happy retirement” but told the undefeated Russian to “never forget who came in the game and made ye.”

Khabib is clearly still lingering on McGregor’s mind, with ‘The Notorious’ following up that barb with another social media shot at the former undisputed 155lbs champion, claiming he was feather-fisted inside the octagon.

“8 ko/tko across 30 fights = zero power. Don’t forget it teddy bear,” McGregor tweeted, poking fun at Khabib’s record. 

Conor McGregor fired a shot at former foe Khabib. © Twitter @thenotoriousmma

McGregor may have got the stats right regarding the Russian grappling sensation’s TKO/KO numbers, but the Irishman stood accused of distorting the narrative regarding a man who was always famed primarily for his ground game rather than stand-up prowess.

MMA fans were also quick to point out that Khabib had dropped McGregor with a heavy right hand in the second round of their Las Vegas grudge match in 2018 – which the Russian would go on to win via fourth-round submission.

In another apparent shot at Khabib, McGregor shared footage of his rapid-fire win against Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone in January of 2020, claiming that was "real power", as well retweeting a compilation of weigh-in shots from the former two-weight UFC champion's bouts down the years.  

"Name the fights, the weights, the sports...," wrote McGregor, who is set to face Dustin Poirier in a trilogy bout this summer after the American knocked him out in their meeting in January to level the scores at 1-1 between the pair.  

McGregor wasn’t the only UFC lightweight to take shots at the departing Khabib. Longtime former lightweight contender Tony Ferguson also issued a message to ‘The Eagle’ and his manager Ali Abdelaziz.

“29-1 it is,” wrote Ferguson. “It’s MMA not jiu-jitsu. Stick to dodging fights on purpose and being a sour bish.”

Khabib, meanwhile, was seen enjoying himself cageside with Dana White at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on Saturday, where middleweight fighter Kevin Holland used the opportunity to implore the Russian for some wrestling advice midway through the bout.