Russian thugs surround Conor McGregor’s hotel in Moscow, police forced to intervene

Conor McGregor struggles to stay out of trouble, even when travelling abroad.

This week, the former champion’s trip to Russia was interrupted as thugs reportedly surrounded his hotel, forcing the building into lockdown and police to intervene (according to Sputnik News).

The Irishman has been visiting the country to promote his whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve. Russia is also the home country of his rival and former opponent, Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Irish and Russian lightweights have had very few good things to say about one another.

When asked about visiting Nurmagomedov’s home town of Dagestan, McGregor insulted his rival:

“I wouldn’t go to Dagestan to take a s***.”

Their conflict culminated in their UFC 229 bout in 2018. ‘The Notorious’ was submitted during the fourth round via neck-crank. McGregor hasn’t fought since, but Nurmagomedov went on to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 242. The fighters are no closer to a rematch, but that hasn’t stopped their never-ending beef. This Thursday during a media event, McGregor called out ‘The Eagle’:

“Where is he right now? I believe he’s out of the country. I fly in, he flies out. Typical of the Dagestani man,” he said.

Die-hard Nurmagomedov fans were not impressed by ‘The Notorious” antics. During a press conference, a fan throw a bottle of water at McGregor.

In addition, as aforementioned, disgruntled Russians showed up to McGregor’s hotel (The Ritz Carlton) to let the Irishman know that he is not welcome.

Local media reported that approximately 100 people gathered around the 5-star hotel. Some were fans of McGregors, but others were Dagestani natives or fans of Nurmagomedov.

“Two men from the crowd managed to enter the building, telling reporters that they wanted to show McGregor that people from Dagestan ‘don’t run from him,'” (via Sputnik News).

This forced the hotel to go into security lockdown and police were called to control the scene.

Conor McGregor has announced his Octagon return for early 2020. With no official opponent announced, Donald Cerrone is the front-runner, but that hasn’t stopped McGregor from goading the Russian for a rematch. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov is busy preparing for a fight against Tony Ferguson.

Would you like to see the Irish vs Russian fighters battle it out for a second time? Sound off in the comments below.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/30/2019.