Khabib Nurmagomedov: Putin Called Me to Tell Me He’s Proud

Dagestani fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov says Russian leader Vladimir Putin personally called him after his victory over Conor McGregor on Saturday to tell him how proud he was. Nurmagomedov, who jumped out of the octagon after the match and sparked mass brawls that led to arrests, was mostly unapologetic for the chaos he caused. “They call [McGregor] two-weight world champion, but today he tapped,” he told reporters after the fight in Las Vegas, saying the Irish fighter had disrespected the sport with his “trash talking” about Nurmagomedov’s religion and family ahead of the fight. “Of course, this is not what my father taught me, but it was a matter of honor,” he wrote on Instagram. He also said that while “all the press” was busy talking about McGregor’s photo with Putin at the FIFA World Cup over the summer, “the president just called me. He congratulated me and said he’s proud of me.” The Kremlin has yet to officially comment on Nurmagomedov’s win. But Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov relished in the Dagestani’s victory on Sunday, saying McGregor learned the hard way that Nurmagomedov is “a genius artist, capable of turning his face into a painting drawn in red oil paint.”