Conor McGregor responds to offer to avenge defeat by Khabib Nurmagomedov

'The Notorious' famously went head-to-head with bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov back in 2018 in what was the biggest fight in the history of MMA

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has responded to Paul Hughes' offer to corner him in a potential clash with Usman Nurmagomedov.

On Saturday night, in the toughest test of his professional career, Hughes defeated former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee via split decision in Riyadh. The 27-year-old dropped the American with a brutal right hook in the first round and impressed throughout the contest with his pin-point striking.

Hughes was a big underdog coming into the clash, but showed why he deserves to be among the best in the division with a jaw-dropping display. "The PFL believed in me and look at me now. I took the risk, I fought one of the best in the division. Here I am, a rural kid from Ireland. I bet on myself," said Hughes.

He added: "We want to see Ireland v Dagestan, we want to see Paul Hughes v Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator lightweight title. Let's go!" After calling out the 155lb champion, Hughes offered an opportunity for McGregor to face off with bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov once again.

'The Notorious' famously shared the cage with Nurmagomedov back in 2018 in what was the biggest fight in the history of MMA - with Nurmagomedov going on to win via submission in the fourth round. And, on Saturday night, when Hughes was asked if he would recruit McGregor to help prepare him for a potential clash with Usman Nurmagomedov, the Irishman was desperate for the media to make his response go viral.

“Someone clip this,” Hughes told the media during his post-fight press conference. "Conor, I want you in my corner for that fight, 100 per cent, how cool would that be? We might need some extra security that night, Oscar [Willis, from The Mac Life] talk to the man. We might need some more security but I’m down for it, I think it would be fun.”

McGregor was clearly impressed with what he saw from Hughes in Riyadh. Taking to X - formerly known as Twitter - he posted: "What a mega win for ‘Big News’ @paulhughesmma ! Solidified! Bravo bro, well in!”

The 36-year-old then responded to Hughes' offer about potentially being in his corner for a showdown with Nurmagomedov. In a quickly deleted post, McGregor wrote: “Paul my man I will go to the arena and support 100 per cent for sure. And if it kicks off I’ll be in there before you could even say ‘the Nurgamedovs [sic] are juice head inbred rats married to their cousins’. Your team and corner have done a tremendous job with you! They will take you all the way! You’ve got this! We are with you brother, bring home the Gold!”