Key Highlights
- Conor McGregor reignited his feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov, accusing him of scamming fans with a cultural NFT sale.
- Khabib defended the digital assets as cultural gifts and dismissed McGregor’s attack as an attempt to damage his name.
- Crypto analyst ZachXBT weighed in, citing similar allegations about both MMA stars’ past digital endorsements.
Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, two professional mixed martial arts fighters, brought back their rivalry, engaging in a discussion regarding the morality and validity of the new non-fungible token (NFT) sale on X.
The digital feud began with Conor McGregor making a pointed accusation against Khabib for using his father’s name to sell NFTs.
McGregor questioned the project’s use of cultural symbols for profit and questioned the project’s integrity. In an X post, he stated, “There is just no way good guy Khabib used his late father’s name, as well as Dagestan’s culture, to scam his fans and fire-sell a bunch of digital NFTs online and then delete all of the content after they were sold, leaving his fans robbed of their money?”
Khabib’s reaction to the comment
Khabib quickly countered, dismissing McGregor’s statement as a fabricated attempt to damage his reputation. He defended the digital items as cultural assets while invoking their shared history inside the cage.
He called McGregor an “absolute liar” and said, “You will always try to darken my name, after you got destroyed that night, but you will never achieve that!” He further asserted the legitimacy of the digital offerings, claiming, “They don’t create exclusive digital gifts with real time value, that you can share with your friends and family,” and described them as “Gifts in the shape of Papakha,” a hat that symbolizes the traditions and culture of the Dagestan people.
McGregor further issued a follow-up, rejecting the notion that a sold item could be classified as a gift. He demanded an apology and intensified the personal insults. He asked Khabib to apologize for his actions and for costing his fans so much money, calling him a “low iq troglodyte.”
The two fighters first met at UFC 229 in 2018 after years of personal slights. Khabib won the match, which was followed by an immediate post-fight brawl. Ever since the two separate journeys, the personal hate has remained, boiling over at times across social media platforms.
Earlier this year, a controversial YouTuber and espionage expert in the world of crypto scams, Coffeezilla, also accused Khabib of allegedly having a connection with an NFT scam.
ZachXBT weighs in
The online sparring between the two stars prompted a response from ZachXBT, an independent blockchain investigator and prominent figure in the crypto community. He responded to McGregor’s charge directly, using the exact same language to refute the Irish fighter by bringing up a previous token launch that McGregor was linked to.
ZachXBT’s reply stated, “There is just no way good guy McGregor used his reputation, as well as Irish culture, to scam his fans and fire sell a bunch of digital tokens’s online and then delete all of the posts after they were sold, leaving his fans robbed of their money?” This commentary implied that accusations of using influence and culture for questionable token sales could be leveled at both men, highlighting a pattern of celebrity-endorsed digital assets facing scrutiny.
The recent exchange points to a broader pattern of high-profile celebrity feuds migrating into monetized, digital battlegrounds. The personal aspect of the rivalry maintains the drive for engagement, but involved token launches add an extra layer of financial risk and speculation to their respective fan bases.
Such a trend calls for increased caution from the followers of these celebrity figures, as lines between personal brand marketing, sports rivalry, and investment ventures might get blurred.
Also Read: Sorare Lays Off 35% of Staff, CTO Steps Back as NFT Boom Fades
