Conor McGregor gets surprise backing from iconic rival Khabib Nurmagomedov

At a New York Q&A where he discussed Islam Makhachev’s upcoming fight with Jack Della Maddalena, Nurmagomedov surprisingly supported McGregor without naming him.

“I don’t wanna mention his name,” he said. “This is punishment… The most beautiful part of this is Allah always gives the chance to come back.”

He continued: “We always have in this world the chance to come back, and this is the most beautiful thing. It doesn’t matter how you’ve been, Allah is gonna give you a chance always to come back.”

“I think he has a chance. He has to change how he is living,” Khabib went on. “Why am I talking about this? If he’s gonna change, he can change with him so many other lives too.”

“That’s why I wish him to change himself. If he’s not gonna change, it will be punishment all his life.”

McGregor aims for UFC return

Conor McGregor’s last fight was in July 2021 at UFC 264, where he sustained a broken leg in his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier.

The Irishman recently re-entered the UFC drug testing pool to move his comeback one step closer.

McGregor has expressed an interest in competing on the UFC White House card on July 4, 2026.

That’s a long way off, and only time will tell if McGregor will ever fight inside the Octagon again.