"Dagestan isn’t Russia" - Internet fact-checks ex-UFC star's criticism of Khabib Nurmagomedov's recent Irish MMA take that has irked Conor McGregor

Netizens are upset with a former UFC fighter's interpretation of Khabib Nurmagomedov's recent comments about Irish MMA fighters. Many defended Nurmagomedov's remarks while criticizing the individual.

The individual in question is former UFC welterweight Darren Till, who recently expressed his thoughts on Nurmagomedov's comments about the lack of professional MMA fighters from Ireland in an interview with PFL before his cousin Usman Nurmagomedov's Bellator lightweight title fight against Paul Hughes on Jan. 25. That didn't sit well with Conor McGregor, who bashed the Dagestani legend in his now-deleted social media post. Till also went to X and wrote:

''I’ve always respected Khabib and his team a lot they are fantastic fighters. But for him to sit there and say fighters from Ireland are low level in comparison of sizes of countries and production Ireland is actually way ahead. Ireland is so fucking small and Russia is so fucking big. Ireland has produced amazing fighters over the years. I would said just over size and production of the country Ireland wins every time and this is not me being biased because I am neither friends with khabibs side or irelands side I’m just stating my opinion''

Fans soon rushed to the comments section to share their reactions.

One fan wrote:

''Dagestan isn’t Russia .. It’s smaller than Ireland.''

Another one stated:

''Dagestan produce better wrestler and mma fighter, ireland produce better boxer. Dagestan 2 - 1 Ireland. Its that simple Darren.''

Other fans wrote:

''He was comparing Dagestan and Ireland and what he said was factual Dagestan in general has had the better and more common fighters throughout the different organisations''

''Dagestan is smaller than Ireland, Darren. And much poorer. And it still produces way more world class fighters than Ireland. Clearly he has a point.''

Check out more reactions below:

Fan reactions [Screenshots courtesy: @darrentill2 on X]

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Chael Sonnen thinks that Khabib Nurmagomedov's remarks regarding Irish MMA were misunderstood by Darren Till

Khabib Nurmagomedov's comments about Dagestan producing more professional fighters than Ireland elicited reactions from many, including Darren Till, who took to X and disagreed with Nurmagomedov, citing the geological difference between Ireland and Russia.

However, Chael Sonnen expressed his support for Nurmagomedov in his most recent social media post and contradicted Till's words, saying:

''I heard Khabib's interview. I then read Darren's rebuke of the comment. The problem is Darren misquoted Khabib. Darren's whole problem was saying, 'Hey, go look at the population of Ireland in comparison to Russia.' That's the thing. Khabib never said Russia. In fact, he specifically said Dagestan...Khabib's point of bragging about Dagestan per capita versus anywhere on Earth you might like it, it might offend you, but there's no way to say he's wrong."

Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below: