Khabib rubs salt into ‘evil’ McGregor’s wounds as Irishman is goaded by rivals following horror UFC 264 injury

Khabib Nurmagomedov issued a withering message after former octagon rival Conor McGregor lost his UFC 264 trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier following a grisly leg break for the Irishman in the first round.

McGregor’s lower left leg snapped grotesquely towards the end of the first round as he stepped back from throwing a punch at Poirier, forcing the fight to be called off and Poirier declared the winner via doctor stoppage TKO. 

McGregor was unable to continue as he last stricken on the canvas. © Reuters

The build-up to the bout in Las Vegas had been marked by McGregor’s return to his brash trash-talking ways, during which he had brought up Poirier’s wife on several occasions.  

The smack talk was similar to the type McGregor had doled out to Khabib before the pair met in their own infamous grudge match in Las Vegas back in 2018 – a fight the Russian would win via fourth-round submission.

Khabib – who also defended his lightweight title against Poirier in a much more respectful contest in 2019 – made his feelings clear following McGregor’s defeat at UFC 264 on Saturday night.

“Good always defeats evil,” tweeted the now-retired Russian star.

“Very happy for Dustin Poirier. I hope you will get the belt by the end of the year.”

Khabib had choked out McGregor in their own meeting in 2018. © USA Today Sports

Poirier had previously passed up a shot at the 155lbs title following his victory over McGregor in January, opting instead for a lucrative third fight against the Irishman.

After moving 2-1 vs McGregor, this time Poirier is expected to move on to face Brazilian champion Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title – although McGregor declared his rivalry with Poirier is “not over” and UFC boss Dana White also suggested the pair could meet for a fourth time at some point.

Meanwhile, members of Khabib’s team – including manager Ali Abdelaziz – were quick to stick the boot into the stricken Irishman.

McGregor's most vocal critic in recent weeks has been YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who on the eve of UFC 264 had even commissioned a piece of gem-studded jewelry featuring the Irishman in the curled-up pose he adopted after being knocked out by Poirier in January. 

Paul was among those to taunt McGregor after he suffered another loss to Poirier, offering to send the jewelry to the victorious American fighter.

"[You] want me to ship this to you? $100k gift from me I think you deserve it," Paul wrote in a tweet, tagging Poirier. 

He also taunted McGregor's pre-fight prediction that Poirier would be carried from the octagon on a stretcher, which ended up being the reverse of what played out in front of 20,000 fans at the T-Mobile Arena. 

Meanwhile, UFC boss White has said McGregor will undergo surgery to his injury on Sunday, confirming that he had suffered a break to his lower tibia in his left shin.

“The fight didn’t get finished, you can’t have a fight finish that way,” White told the press afterwards.

“We’ll see how this whole thing plays out. Who knows how long Conor is out. Poirier will do his thing until Conor’s ready.”

McGregor's defeat saw him slip to 22 wins and six defeats in his 28 professional MMA contests, including three defeats in his past four fights. 

Poirier improved to 28 wins in his 35 fights, with six defeats and one no contest.