Too often in MMA, beef is manufactured. Fighters who don’t have a problem with one another pretend to be mortal enemies for the sake of juicing up interest in their fights. But occasionally, we do get fights where the two combatants actually can’t stand each other. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor is clearly one such example, just look at the post-fight brawl Nurmegomedov started after choking McGregor out at UFC 229. But despite the fact that they met in the cage already to settle accounts, it appears their feud is far from over.

Last week, McGregor announced his ‘retirement’ from MMA and while most people assume “Notorious” won’t really hang up the gloves, Nurmagomedov took the opportunity to remind everyone who it was that retired Conor, should the retirement stick.

Just a few days later, Nurmagomedov posted a message on his social media with a picture of him after winning the lightweight title against Al Iaquinta, teasing a return to action “very soon.”

While “very soon” is open to interpretation - Nurmagomedov is still suspended until July and has said he’s targeting a return in November - McGregor’s response was anything but. The former two-division world champion came out of nowhere to mock Nurmagomedov for the post-fight brawl and calling the lightweight champion a “little rat.”

Unsurprisingly, Khabib fired back at McGregor with his by now usual trump card: ‘Scoreboard’.

Nurmagomedov and McGregor have been at each other’s throats since UFC 205 when McGregor won the lightweight title and Khabib submitted Michael Johnson and then gave one of the most memorable post-fight speeches ever, saying he wanted to fight with the UFC’s “chicken” because he was “the number one easy fight in the UFC”. When he finally did get that chance, Nurmagomedov proved his words to be true, as he had little trouble in dismantling McGregor. However, Conor recently blamed the loss on a “lack of dedication” ahead of their fight and mocked Khabib for his cowardly tactics of wrestling during the fight. He also said that the post-fight brawl afterwards necessitated a rematch between the two of them.

Will a rematch happen? McGregor’s statements were from before he opted to walk away from the sport. But if this is all part of negotiations with the UFC over equity, maybe he’ll be back sooner rather than later. A rematch with Nurmagomedov is likely the biggest fight the UFC can make at this point and Dana White has already said he expects it to happen this year. Perhaps a 2 million buy Pay-Per-View is just the thing to make Dana walk back his proclamation that there’s no way he’s giving Conor equity in the UFC.

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MUST-READ STORIES

UFC Philly. Justin Gaethje overpowers Edson Barboza with first-round knockout.

Results. Shinya Aoki, Demetrious Johnson win, Eddie Alvarez and Angela Lee lose at ONE.

Highlight. Justin Gaethje has eyes on Khabib Nurmagomedov after UFC Philadelphia KO: ‘I’m the toughest matchup for him’.

Goals. Maycee Barber, 20, expects to be in ‘area’ of UFC title shot at this time next year.

Title Eliminator. Francis Ngannou vs. Junior dos Santos slated for UFC 239.

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VIDEO STEW

ONE recap.

DJ’s post-fight.

Gary Tonon interview.

Bellator 219 highlights.

I would hope so. Randy is 55.

Gaethje KO.

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LISTEN UP

6th Round. Immediate post-fight reaction to UFC Philadelphia.

Severe MMA. Discussing UFC Philadelphia and ONE Championship’s New Era.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Barboza’s wife went into labor shortly after his fight. He was able to make it there to see the birth of their child.

I’d watch them fight.

Honestly, even if you can beat him, you absolutely know you will have to go through hell against Gaethje. No one should want to fight this dude.

Except Paul Felder, who is a crazy person.

Respect.

Conor has been extremely active on Twitter lately.

Meanwhile, Khabib is now Vin Diesel.

It appears he’s trolling but just in case.

And so it begins.

Call out.

That’s one hell of a mantle.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Eric Wisely (33-9-1) vs. Gilbert Burns (14-3); UFC Fort Lauderdale, April 27.

Francisco Trinaldo (23-6) vs. Diego Ferreira (15-2); UFC 237, May 11.

Francis Ngannou (13-3) vs. Junior Dos Santos (21-5); UFC 239, July 6.

Jorge Masvidal (33-13) vs. Ben Askren (19-0); UFC 239, July 6.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Gaethjesus does it again. Whatever the UFC is paying him, it’s not enough. He’s the most exciting fighter in the history of the sport.

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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