Khabib brands McGregor 'alcoholic' & 'rapist,' Irishman labels UFC champ 'a p*ssy' in ugly war of words

UFC lightweight ruler Khabib Nurmagomedov labeled Conor McGregor “an alcoholic” and "a rapist" after the Irishman lashed out over comments made by UFC boss Dana White that Nurmagomedov was now “calling the shots” for future bouts.

McGregor unleashed a furious social media rant on Saturday after UFC chief White said that “Khabib is the man now.”

“Conor isn’t the man anymore, so Khabib gets to sit back and call the shots,” White said in Boston this week when discussing potential match-ups for the pair.   

That prompted McGregor to lash out on Twitter over September's UFC 242 event in Abu Dhabi, where Khabib defended his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier.

“Who’s not the man? Your man had that marquee event did he? More like an event in a marquee. A tent in the fucking sand it was,” McGregor fumed. “Keep spoofing to your self horse. Jock strap sniffer championships.”

Khabib has now replied in his own inimitable style, pitching back a barb at his former rival and branding him an "alky."

“This is a fiasco alky [alcoholic],” Nurmagomedov wrote in Russian, adding a smiling emoji.

McGregor then shot back with a barb of his own in Russian, writing: “See you in Moscow, pussy” - using the literal translation of the alternative word for a cat in Russian, but likely with the intended insulting connotation that "pussy" carries in English.    

The barbs then turned uglier as Nurmagomedov responded by calling McGregor "a rapist."

"In Moscow they aren't waiting for rapists," he wrote.   

McGregor then posted an image on Twitter featuring a photo of himself apparently at a Russian visa center. 

The unsavory exhange echoes earlier barbs between the pair, who fought each other in Las Vegas in October of 2018, in a bout marred by a toxic build-up and post-fight mass melee.

McGregor earlier this year aimed an insult at Nurmagmomedov's wife, leading to the Russian to label the Irishman "a rapist" on that occasion as well. UFC chief White subsequently stepped in to try and quell the row.  

The latest Twitter barbs come on a day that McGregor was named by reports as facing a second allegation of sexual assault in Ireland.

READ MORE: UFC star Conor McGregor named in second sexual assault case in Ireland – reports

The New York Times, citing sources, alleges that McGregor is accused of sexual assault on a woman in her 20s in a Dublin carpark earlier in October. McGregor has not been charged over the alleged incident and police have not yet spoken to him, the newspaper reports.

McGregor has not commented on the latest reports, but has previously vehemently denied separate allegations stemming from December, which claimed he assaulted a woman in a Dublin hotel room. 

READ MORE: Irish police investigating sexual assault on young woman ‘by famous national sports star’ – reports

The Irishman's fighting future remains unclear after UFC chief White stifled talk of a potential match-up with featherweight Frankie Edgar.

Instead, White said McGregor could await the winner of the Nate Diaz versus Jorge Masvidal bout, or face lightweight rivals Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone or Justin Gaethje.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, is widely tipped as next facing longtime rival Tony Ferguson in March or April of next year. 

The Dagestani fighter recently said he would not rule out a rematch with McGregor at some point, but that the Irishman needed to "get in line" and "stop hitting elderly people" - in reference to McGregor's court case in Ireland over claims he struck a man in a Dublin pub earlier this year.