Khabib Nurmagomedov sends Conor McGregor a personal message, tells him to “die like Irish warrior”

In the main event of UFC 205, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor knocked out lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two divisions concurrently.

As the king of two stacked divisions, McGregor now finds himself in the crosshairs of dozens of dangerous contenders. Of all the fighters currently gunning for the Irish champion, perhaps none is more deserving of the opportunity to fight him than Dagestani lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov also won big at UFC 205, dominating Michael Johnson to a third round kimura on the undercard. With this win, he extended his record to sparkling 24-0, and established himself as the clear-cut number one contender at lightweight – though Tony Ferguson might have something to say about that.

In a world where rankings ruled, Nurmagomedov would undeniably be the next man to challenge McGregor for the lightweight crown. As the UFC’s biggest and most valuable star, however, McGregor is able to call his own shots. As such, he’s already floated the idea of battling welterweight champion Tyron Woodley for a shot at a third title. And then, of course, there’s the chance that he opts to unify his featherweight title with that of interim champion Jose Aldo, or settle his 1-1 score with his biggest rival, Nate Diaz. Safe to say that while Nurmagomedov should be the next man to fight McGregor, his getting this opportunity his far from a foregone conclusion.

To better his chances of a fight with McGregor, Nurmagomedov has issued callout after callout of the Irish star. Given that these callouts seem to have fallen on deaf ears, the Dagestan native is now taking a new approach. He has taken what he believes to be the old-school, man-to-man route, and messaged McGregor personally on Twitter.

I am old school and try to do this man to man but the he don't want anything to do with a real man. Time to move on @danawhite @seanshelby pic.twitter.com/ilAL4yM6O7

— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) November 23, 2016

The message, which marks the pair’s first private correspondence on Twitter since 2014, reads as follows:

“Conor you’re the champion now, you need to fight with me. If you run every time you look in the mirror, you not going to respect yourself, your kids not going to respect you, your friends, your family won’t respect you. Die like a samurai, don’t chicken out please. I know I’m a bad matchup for you but you’re the champion and you need to fight the best. It’s ok. Die like Irish warrior, don’t run like a chicken.”

Do you think this message will generate a response from the two-division champ, or will it go ignored? Sound off PENN Nation!