Khabib Nurmaagomedov Says UFC Needs to Make Conor McGregor Humble

It’s been a couple of weeks since Conor McGregor stormed inside of a Bellator cage and caused absolute chaos. Everyone is still talking about it besides the UFC, who have no released any statement about the incident. Aside from the lead regulator from the Dublin Bellator card saying that allegedy the UFC pulled McGregor off of UFC 219, it looks like the Irish double champ will get off scot-free. Khabib Nurmagomedov surprisingly relates to McGregor’s actions, but ultimately thinks the organization needs to teach him some discipline.

“My very good friend fought for a big organization in Europe at 57 kgs, 125 [pounds]. When he win, I do same sh-t. I come inside and I hold him because I’m very happy. I’m jumping on the cage, I come inside. A lot of people come inside, my friends, my teammates, because we’re very happy but when referee tells me, ‘Hey, you guys have to go out,’ I don’t try to fight with him because I know referee is not professional fighter, he’s referee. I have to respect rules. But I go crazy a little bit after I understand, ‘Hey, this is not good. I have to stop this,’ and I try to tell my friends, my teammates that we have to go out. Yes, it’s okay, but not all the time.”

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“He does this all the time. In Ultimate Fighter show, in Bellator show, I don’t understand why he can do but other guys cannot do. Because he’s Conor McGregor? He cannot do this. The UFC has to make him humble a little bit because other guys say, ‘Oh, Conor do this? He can do this but why I not?’ This is why sometimes you have to follow rules when you’re a big name, because a lot of people are watching you. When you jump inside the ring, okay, but when you try to fight with referee, this is not good. Why he don’t slap me when we go very close like UFC 205? Because he understands I don’t stop. Maybe he slaps him because he understands he’s not fighter, he cannot give him back. I never slap somebody if this guy cannot fight with me. . . You cannot fight with me. I can kill you. I can punch you and I can take you down and smash your face. You have to stay relaxed. Sometimes you have to say this because you’re a professional athlete and you can kill people.” — Khabib Nurmagomedov on the Talk & Talker podcast.

Khabib Nurmagomedov understands where Conor McGregor is coming from and admits he’s done similar things in that past, but he draws the line at touching a referee and points out that McGregor never laid his hands on him. Of course, Nurmagomedov is referring to when Conor McGregor tried to fight him (and Tyron Woodley) before his historic fight with Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. Planting the seeds to potential match-ups with pro fighters are one thing, doing what he did at Bellator is something else. Nurmagomedov thinks the UFC should do something so McGregor understands the consequences and that no one is bigger than the sport.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 11/24/2017