In America, when someone calls another person a “chicken,” it’s considered nothing more than a childish insult. This apparently is not the case in Russia.

And so, when Khabib Nurmagomedov started calling Conor McGregor a “chicken” in 2016 and repeatedly hurled the insult at him, McGregor’s SBG Ireland teammate, Artem Lobov, took major exception.

In an interview Monday with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, “The Russian Hammer” broke his silence for the first time since an April confrontation with Dagestani champion Nurmagomedov, explaining how “chicken” was the genesis of a bitter feud that culminated with a post-fight melee.

“It might not sound very serious to you guys, but just so you know, ‘chicken’ is one of the biggest insults you can give a man in Russia,” said Lobov, adding that him, McGregor and Nurmagomedov were cool with each other prior to the insults. “In fact, 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.”

Lobov, whose UFC 223 fight was canceled following McGregor’s retaliatory bus attack aimed at Nurmagomedov, returns to the octagon for the first time in a year on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 138, where he meets Michael Johnson in the FS1-televised co-headliner from Moncton, Canada.

For most people, the drama surrounding Nurmagomedov, McGregor and Lobov starts with the confrontation in the host hotel at UFC 223. But, as Lobov explained, the only reason that happened is because of an interview he gave a Russian journalist, who asked him what he thought of Nurmagomedov calling McGregor a “chicken.”

“Of course, me knowing the severity of this insult, I had to respond in a hard way,” Lobov said. “And I think anybody would’ve done the same. If I didn’t do that, then what kind of friend am I? You know what I mean? Of course, my response was pretty harsh, but I spoke facts. I talked about Khabib himself pulling out of fights all the time and the fact that Conor has never pulled out. And I said how could he call him a chicken when he’s the one pulling out all the time but Conor has never pulled out?

“Look, it was a harsh response, but given the situation, I thought it was an appropriate response. And I didn’t see how I could not respond that way. And to be honest, if I was asked 100 times in the same interview the same question, my response would’ve been the same, even knowing what has happened since then.”

Lobov said he saw Nurmagomedov on several occasions at MMA events in Russia after the interview, but that Nurmagomedov never said anything to him. That didn’t happen until UFC 223 fight week in April.

The way Lobov described it, he was in the hotel hallway with a UFC public relations staff member getting ready to do an interview when he was approached by Nurmagomedov. At first, Lobov said, Nurmagomedov was alone. Then he walked away and returned with members of his crew, and that’s when he “got brave.”

“I’m kind of taken aback by all of this,” Lobov said. “… He kept asking me the same thing: ‘Why did you say that?’ And I kept repeating the same thing. I said, ‘Look, you called my brother a chicken. How could I not respond to you? If someone called your brother a chicken, you probably would’ve responded the same way.’ And he just kept saying, ‘None of your business. Why did you call me that?’ Over and over again. And I explained to him, ‘Look, I didn’t say that to you directly. I said that in response to you calling him a chicken.’ And that was it. That’s how that all happened.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

McGregor retaliated with his infamous bus attack, which set up a massive title fight against Nurmagomedov. In the build-up, McGregor got personal with his trash talk, attacking Nurmagomedov’s father, religion and country.

Nurmagomedov got the last laugh inside the octagon at UFC 229, dominating his way to a fourth-round submission win. Still, that wasn’t enough as Nurmagomedov jumped the cage, inciting an all-out brawl.

Nurmagomedov, whose $2 million purse was withheld by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, awaits sanctions to be discussed at a meeting on Wednesday. So does McGregor for his role.

And to think, it all started with with the word “chicken.”

For complete coverage of UFC 229, check out the UFC Events section of the site.