Hasbulla has named his chicken 'Conor McGregor' in a dig at his friend Khabib Nurmagomedov's former rival.
The Russian star has risen to fame on social media ever since a mock press conference with his bitter foe Abdu Rozik went viral. Hasbulla has dwarfism and has been linked with a UFC fight of his own against Rozik, with the promotion's president Dana White even addressing the potential showdown.
He is friends with former undefeated champion Nurmagomedov who retired from the sport in 2020 after a terrific career, which reached its pinnacle when he beat long-term enemy McGregor. And Hasbulla has moved to mock the Irishman in a social media video which shows his new pet chicken, in which he narrates: "This is my chicken, named Conor McGregor. There's my beauty."
Nurmagomedov directed the same insult at McGregor during their rivalry, with the nickname considered a particularly nasty jibe in Russia. McGregor's teammate Artem Lobov explained at the time: "If you call someone a chicken in Russia, that is a person that gets raped in prison – in male prison. That’s what a chicken is in Russia. And Khabib knows that, and everybody knows that. It is a very, very, severe insult."
Hasbulla has often been hailed as the "Mini Khabib" since his rise to fame began and he has been seen attending Nurmagomedov's protege Islam Makhachev's fights in recent years. The pair will no doubt be in attendance at Makhachev's huge title challenge against Charles Oliveira.
Nurmagomedov is a big fan of Hasbulla and believes he is capable of earning "billions" in the future due to his role as a social media personality. The 33-year-old told Red Corner MMA : “He has to go to the US, all the big sports stars know him there, he’s very popular.
“Maybe do some good charity things [together], they can become ambassadors for charity funds… but I don’t want to see this fight. We have enough fighting around the world. Peace is better than war.” Nurmagomedov was part of one of the biggest rivalries in combat sports history with McGregor which was eventually settled in a huge UFC bout back in 2018.
"He has to move for a couple of years to the US and become a billionaire. Minimum he can become a millionaire. Honestly, I don’t want to make this fight [with Abdu Rozik]. I don’t support this idea. I don’t think this is a good idea. They’re both big names, they can create some good things if they become friends. If I had a choice, I’m going to make them friends.
