Conor McGregor backed after claiming Khabib Nurmagomedov was “good not great”

The former two-weight world champion mocked his old rival Nurmagomedov in a tweet, saying that his early retirement and lack of knockout finishes made him not an all-time great fighter

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Conor McGregor: Who will he fight next?

Conor McGregor ‘s claim that Khabib Nurmagomedov was “good, not great” has been backed up by UFC legend Chael Sonnen.

McGregor and Nurmagomedov have had a long-standing rivalry, that never stopped running despite their 2018 fight at UFC 229, which is to this day the biggest fight in MMA history.

And the Irishman has been back in his recent mocking of the Russian by Sonnen, who says that he is telling the truth in his assessment.

Nurmagomedov went unbeaten, including a submission win over McGregor, during his illustrious career that saw him retire as the UFC’s lightweight champion.

“Khabib Nurmagomedov is the most dominant fighter to ever do it,” Sonnen pointed out in a YouTube video about McGregor’s tweets.

“He didn’t only beat guys, he dominated them – but Conor broke this down and said, ‘He doesn’t kick very well. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t kick at all.’

“Well, now Conor has my attention because that’s true.

“Then Conor proceeded to work through certain things such as, he never left his weight class, he missed weight twice, he could barely make it.

“It was his number one struggle, why wouldn’t he go up? He didn’t do it, he didn’t take that kind of risk.

“So Conor laid out a compelling case because he told the truth. What would be wrong is if you misinterpret that because I agree with Conor fully.”

McGregor drew the ire of MMA fans and experts around the world when he declared that Nurmagomedov was not a great during a debate with documentarian Will Harris.

When Harris asked McGregor if he felt Nurmagomedov was just a “good” fighter, the Irishman replied: “Yes, good, not great.”

“Low KO rate,” McGregor continued. “Can’t kick whatsoever. Never moved up in weight class despite almost dying trying to make weight. Pulled out of fights multiple times. Retired early.

“All of which lead him to a good fighter, not great. He’d a good few months, that’s it.”

Do you agree with Conor McGregor’s assessment of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s career? Let us know in the comments section!

McGregor famously moved up from featherweight, where he had beaten long-standing champion Jose Aldo for the belt, to win the lightweight belt from Eddie Alvarez in 2016.

This was after two bouts at welterweight against Nate Diaz the same year, one of which he lost before winning the rematch, in a 12-month stretch where he fought four times at three different weights.

Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov never moved up in weight to face top welterweights like Tyron Woodley, Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington or Georges St-Pierre, despite struggling to make the 155lb limit.

He missed weight once for a fight with Abel Trujillo in 2013, and was hospitalised due to weight-related issues leading to his 2017 bout with Tony Ferguson being cancelled.

However, he dominated the lightweight division, and defeated a number of champions including McGregor himself, as well as Dustin Poirier, Rafael Dos Anjos and Justin Gaethje.