Following UFC President Dana White finally giving up the chase for a Nurmagomedov comeback, several notable MMA personalities chimed in with their reactions to the retirement news, which had previously been announced by Nurmagomedov himself in October following a win over Justin Gaethje.
McGregor added his two cents on Friday, taking a couple of shots at Nurmagomedov in the process.
“Happy retirement kid, smell ya later,” McGregor wrote. “Never forget who came in the game and made ye. Straight from my big Irish balls. Remember folks, if you hate cutting weight so much, all you have to do is move up a division. God bless.”
McGregor and Nurmagomedov’s careers will forever be tied together after the two engaged in a lengthy public feud, including the April 5, 2018, incident that saw McGregor and a gang of his associates attempt to attack Nurmagomedov at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in the lead-up to UFC 223. “The Notorious” was caught on film throwing a dolly and shattering the window of a bus that was transporting Nurmagomedov and several other notable UFC fighters including then-strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and Michael Chiesa.
The attack was reportedly in retaliation to Nurmagomedov and his team having a confrontation with McGregor’s close friend and teammate Artem Lobov earlier in the week.
Their heated rivalry culminated in a title bout at UFC 229 in Las Vegas, where Nurmagomedov successfully defended his lightweight championship by fourth-round submission. Immediately after the conclusion of the bout, Nurmagomedov leapt out of the cage to brawl with another McGregor teammate, Dillon Danis, which sparked a melee involving members of both camps.
Despite the massive box office success of UFC 229, Nurmagomedov repeatedly shot down any talk of a rematch and instead went on to two more successful title defenses against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 and Gaethje at UFC 254. It was after the win over Gaethje that Nurmagomedov announced his retirement, citing a promise that he made to his mother.
Nurmagomedov finished his career with a 29-0 record, including 13 UFC victories. A bout for the vacant lightweight title has been booked for UFC 262 on May 15, featuring Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler.
McGregor is coming off of a loss to Poirier at UFC 257 in January. The two are rumored to be arranging a trilogy bout for sometime in the summer.
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