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#4. Conor McGregor insulted Islam Makhachev's coach
Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov go back a long way to their days in Dagestan. There, they trained under the tutelage of Khabib's father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Hence, Makhachev certainly didn't take kindly to Conor McGregor insulting his former coach.
Abulmanap Nurmagomedov was one of the most respected figures in Russian MMA. He was admitted to intensive care in a military hospital in Moscow last year after suffering a stroke due to complications caused by the coronavirus.
Although Abdulmanap was placed in a coma for heart bypass surgery, Conor McGregor accused the 57-year old of faking his illness. According to 'The Notorious', Khabib's father was faking his battle with COVID-19 just to ‘cover up’ his son’s lack of UFC activity. McGregor commented on a now deleted Instagram post:
"I figured it was all just a cover up about Abdulmanap. A cover up to hide the lack of activity and the pulling out of fights and running away. Good luck but remember – Allah sees all!"
Having been closely associated with Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev will look to get back at Conor McGregor if they clash inside the octagon.
#3. A perfect stylistic matchup
The potential fight between Conor McGregor and Islam Makhachev comes with promises of an exciting stylistic matchup. While McGregor is feared to be a knockout artist, top-ranked fighters have reportedly ducked Makhachev owing to his dominance on the ground.
Conor McGregor has knocked his opponent out 19 times out of the 22 professional wins of his career. Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev holds a 20-1 professional record with 9 submission victories to his name.
A potential matchup between the two will either lead to a highlight-reel knockout from the Irishman or him getting suffocated on the mat by Islam Makhachev.
