Conor McGregor accuses Khabib Nurmagomedov of scamming fans with Papakha NFT project using his late father’s name – Khabib fires back calling McGregor an ‘absolute liar’ in explosive Twitter exchange.
Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov reignited their long-standing rivalry on Wednesday when McGregor accused the retired undefeated champion of running a cryptocurrency scam using his late father’s name and Dagestani cultural symbols.
The controversy began when Nurmagomedov promoted “Papakha” digital gifts — virtual versions of the traditional Dagestani wool hat that both he and his father, the legendary coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, famously wore. The items were sold exclusively on Telegram as exclusive digital gifts with real-time utility that could be shared with friends and family.
McGregor posted a series of tweets claiming Nurmagomedov had scammed fans by rapidly selling thousands of the NFTs before deleting all promotional content. In one post, McGregor wrote:
“There is just no way good guy khabib used his late fathers name, as well as Dagestan’s culture, to scam his fans and fire sell a bunch of digital NFT’s online and then delete all of the content after they were sold, leaving his fans robbed of their money? There is just no way good guy do this.”
He followed up by directly stating:
“What a shame and a stain on his father’s name. Just wow! To scam fans using his father and his countries culture is just so low. Father’s plan has now become Father’s scam. Very sad.”
McGregor continued the attack in a reply to Nurmagomedov’s response:
“Apologise this instant for using your late father’s name to sell these “gifts” that cost your fans so much of their money. Also to sell something means it is not a gift you low iq troglodyte! That is the direct opposite of what “gift” means. Duh duh duh dumbass hahaha Scamming on your dead daddy’s name. Shame.”
Nurmagomedov responded quickly and firmly, denying any wrongdoing and defending the project as legitimate cultural gifts available only on Telegram. He wrote:
“You absolute liar You will always try to darken my name, after you got destroyed that night, but you will never achieve that! Yes, good guys don’t do that. They don’t create exclusive digital gifts with real time value, that you can share with your friends and family. Gifts in the shape of Papakha – hat that symbolize traditions and culture of Dagestan people. Traditions and culture that slowly walking over this world, whether you like it or not! Gifts that you can find exclusively on Telegram, greatest messaging platform on the world.”
The exchange rapidly went viral, with McGregor’s initial post about the alleged scam garnering over 24,000 likes and Nurmagomedov’s reply receiving more than 16,000 likes within hours.
The two fighters have not faced each other since UFC 229 in October 2018, when Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor by fourth-round submission. The bout was followed by a notorious post-fight brawl that led to suspensions for both men. Their animosity has continued on social media in the years since Nurmagomedov’s retirement in 2020.
Neither fighter has indicated any interest in settling their differences in the octagon again, but their latest public confrontation shows the bad blood remains as intense as ever seven years later.