A fresh wave of accusations from Conor McGregor on November 26, 2025, has placed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s involvement with the “Papakha” digital collectible under intense scrutiny, with McGregor explicitly labeling the project a scam that exploited the memory of Nurmagomedov’s late father.
The Papakha collection consists of limited-edition digital gifts launched exclusively on Telegram, styled after the traditional Dagestani papakha hat that carries deep cultural significance in Dagestan and was frequently worn by the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
These items are official Telegram collectible gifts that users purchase with Telegram Stars, display on their profiles, send to others, and, in some cases, trade or convert into NFTs on the TON blockchain, giving them secondary-market value.
Multiple MMA news outlets confirmed the launch was a legitimate partnership between Nurmagomedov and Telegram, similar to other celebrity-themed limited drops on the platform.
Conor McGregor initiated the controversy with a sarcastic post that quickly viewed millions of times.
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 writing, “Father’s plan has now become Father’s scam,” and later added, “Scamming on your dead daddy’s name. Shame.”
Nurmagomedov responded directly from his official @TeamKhabib account, strongly denying any wrongdoing and framing the project as a celebration of Dagestani heritage.
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.
Some observers noted that promotional posts about the Papakha drop disappeared from Nurmagomedov’s Instagram after the initial sale period, which McGregor cited as evidence of a rug-pull.
However, the collectibles themselves remain active and tradable inside Telegram, consistent with how Telegram handles all limited-edition gift drops once they sell out.
No victims have come forward claiming they did not receive their purchased Papakha gift or that funds disappeared.
No blockchain records or user reports on TON-related marketplaces indicate any form of rug-pull or missing assets.
Discussion threads on Reddit and X largely treat the situation as typical celebrity crypto/NFT promotion rather than outright fraud, though several users criticized the high pricing of the digital items relative to their utility.
As of November 26, 2025, every available piece of evidence points to the Papakha collection being an official Telegram product with Nurmagomedov as a paid promotional partner, not an independent scam orchestrated by the retired fighter.
The deletion of promotional content appears standard for limited drops once sold out, and the items continue to hold or increase in value on Telegram’s internal marketplace.
McGregor’s accusations, while generating massive attention, remain unsupported by any concrete evidence of fraudulent activity.
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