During an interview with ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto, Russian MMA fighter of Dagestani origin Khabib Nurmagomedov called Irish fighter Conor "The Notorious" McGregor an "old prostitute who wants attention."
The statement came a day after McGregor said on Twitter that in a game of chicken between Tony and Khabib, the latter chickened out first.
On 1 April, Khabib Nurmagomedov said the fight against Tony Ferguson that was scheduled for 18 April was cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak. Following the announcement, Ferguson said that the Russian fighter should be deprived of his champion's belt.
In late-March, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) head Dana White said that he had had to constantly overcome problems while organising UFC 249 featuring Khabib Nurmagamedov. At that time, Mr White said that there were five places where the UFC 249 bout could be held, though the organisation will only be able to schedule it after it finally decides on the arena.
The fight was initially planned to be held in Florida, but Khabib's father refused to fly to the US.