"A quivering coward" - When Conor McGregor's vile attack on Khabib Nurmaogomedov's late father shook the UFC community

Conor McGregor’s feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov might’ve ended when ‘The Eagle’ submitted the Irishman at UFC 229, but it remains one of the most bitter feuds in MMA history.

Part of what made this rivalry so deep McGregor's trash talk both prior to, and since the fight.

Right from his 2013 debut, it was clear that Conor McGregor was more than happy to attempt to get into the heads of his opponents with his verbal assaults.

However, ‘The Notorious’ pushed things so far when it came to building his rivalry with Khabib that for ‘The Eagle,’ even defeating him in the octagon wasn’t enough.

In a now-infamous scene, after he’d submitted McGregor in the fourth round with a neck crank, Khabib leapt over the fence of the octagon to attack the Irishman’s cornerman Dillon Danis. From there, a wild brawl between the teams of both fighters broke out.

Why did Khabib – usually a relatively mild-mannered, respectful fighter – react in this way?

‘The Eagle’ went onto give an explanation for his behaviour in a later press conference. In this interview, the Dagestan-native made reference to Conor McGregor talking about his religion, his country, and his father, amongst other things.

So what exactly did McGregor say about Khabib’s father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, prior to UFC 229?

Remarkably, in an Instagram post that has since been deleted, ‘The Notorious’ tagged Abdulmanap in a photo with an inflammatory comment alongside it.

“I can see you. Cowering behind fake respect. Just like your middle child. A quivering coward.”

View a screenshot of this now deleted Instagram post below.

Conor McGregor used Instagram to hit out at Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov [Image Credit: @TheNotoriousMMA on Instagram]

The controversial nature of this rivalry and McGregor’s comments led journalist John Morgan to tell Al Jazeera that the UFC ought to look into whether the ethnic and religious insults had “crossed a line.”

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Conor McGregor on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father: What did ‘The Notorious’ say when Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov passed away?

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach and father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov passed away in July 2020 aged 57 due to complications from a bout of COVID-19.

Unsurprisingly, his death stunned the MMA world, and eventually led to Khabib's decision to hang up his gloves later that year.

Many MMA personalities, including Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh, took to social media to pay tribute to the Dagestani native.