Paddy Pimblett called Khabib Nurmagomedov the ‘Karen of MMA’ in rant about UFC legend and his fans

Conor McGregor could have enjoyed what his fellow UFC 329 star said back in 2021.

Before the Irishman returns against Max Holloway in Saturday’s predominant event, his long-awaited comeback can be preceded by Paddy Pimblett’s second fight of this yr.

‘The Baddy’ is among the many predominant attractions on the 2026 edition of the UFC’s International Fight Week, where Benoit Saint-Denis will face Pimblett in pursuit of creating it back-to-back losses for the Scouser.

July 11 marks Pimblett’s first time sharing a card with McGregor. The lightweight contender has not been a goal of trash talk from MMA’s top star during fight week, and that is likely to be right down to the anti-Khabib Nurmagomedov sentiment he shared five years ago.

After seeing how Paddy Pimblett performed against Justin Gaethje, do you expect him to ever change into UFC lightweight champion? 🤔

Paddy Pimblett rejected Khabib Nurmagomedov’s GOAT claim and called out his podcast conduct

Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor at UFC 229 in 2018 amid one of the crucial heated rivalries in UFC and MMA history.

The result was removed from the top of their beef, and the pair still go backwards and forwards to at the present time.

Pimblett picked his side soon after arriving in MMA’s leading promotion five years ago, having come under fire from fans of the Dagestani for dismissing his claim to GOAT status.

During an appearance on Submission Radio, ‘The Baddy’ took aim at Nurmagomedov’s fans before calling out the UFC legend’s own conduct while being interviewed on Mike Tyson’s podcast.

“The Khabib fans online are worse than the Conor fans now,” Pimblett said. “It’s embarrassing. You possibly can’t say a foul word about him.

“I said that he’s not the GOAT, but said that he’s the (lightweight) GOAT, and folks took no notice of that just, ‘Oh, you said he’s not the GOAT, this and that.’ I began getting called a Muslim hater because I said he wasn’t the best of all time.

“And he’s not. I don’t care what anyone says, he’s not the GOAT. You’ve got to have longevity on this sport to be the GOAT, and he hasn’t had longevity,” he added.

“(Nurmagomedov has) change into the Karen of the MMA scene… See him on the podcast with Mike Tyson the opposite day? He’s going, ‘Can you place this fast food away and this weed?’ No, lad, it’s his (Tyson’s) podcast, he’ll do what he wants. Shut up.”

Moving forward, ‘The Baddy’ may need his sights on replicating Nurmagomedov’s success over the Irish star contained in the Octagon.

If he makes good on his vow to defeat Saint-Denis at UFC 329, Pimblett has teased pursuing a McGregor fight up at welterweight next.

After facing Holloway on Saturday, ‘The Notorious’ can have one bout left on his current UFC deal, though he has expressed public interest in an extension.