Another major lightweight title fight is in the books and Conor McGregor is back at it – tweeting, that is.
Following Islam Makchachev’s title-earning UFC 280 main event victory Saturday in Abu Dhabi, McGregor posted a series of tweets directed at the promotion’s newest champion.
Not only was McGregor critical of Makhachev’s second-round submission performance against Charles Oliveira, he indicated he has the tools to defeat the Russian champion if the two fighters go head-to-head.
The statements attracted the attention of notable figures from around the MMA world, including manager Ali Abdelaziz and former UFC welterweight Ben Asken among others.
McGregor’s initial jabs
Abdelaziz responds
Abdelaziz, who is the CEO of Dominance MMA, a company managing Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, took exception to McGregor’s mention of the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
McGregor denounced “father’s plan,” a frequently referenced championship roadmap Khabib and Makhachev say Abdulmanap laid out for them early in their careers.
Abdelaziz openly criticized McGregor for personal insults in the past, and rehashed those sentiments once again in a quote tweet – for which McGregor had more insults for.
You are low life shit stop talking about people family you need a face slap soon nobody cares about you https://t.co/tsoH3XQJHv
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) October 23, 2022
Dethrone enters
Clothing brand Dethrone, an early UFC sponsor of McGregor, also tweeted – and received an insulting response.
The brand’s main account criticized McGregor for not fighting, to which McGregor responded that he’ll be back soon.
The disrespect. Don’t worry Fatso fat tits, I’ll be back doing what I love soon. Competing!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 23, 2022
Ben Askren takes and receives a shot
Askren also expressed distaste with McGregor’s inconsistent appearances in MMA competition. Askren referenced Dana White’s comments made at the UFC 280 post-fight news conference, where the promotion president confirmed McGregor isn’t in the USADA testing pool.
While the first of McGregor’s responses to Askren wasn’t as insulting perhaps as what he hurled at Abdelaziz and Dethrone, he still rounded out his response with an expletive.
Delete. Delete. Delete.
As is frequently the case, all of the tweets were deleted under two hours.
I think Conor’s handlers took his phone, deleted his tweets and but him to bed 😂 pic.twitter.com/RDcE5BL020
— Funky (@Benaskren) October 23, 2022
McGregor, 34, has not competed since he suffered a broken leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2022. The injury came in a trilogy contest and signified his second straight loss to Poirier.
His timeline for return is unclear, though he is currently filming his acting debut in a remake of Road House. He will star alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. A release date had not been revealed.
Makhachev, meanwhile, won his 11th fight in a row against Oliveira. While he’s expressed openness to a McGregor fight in the past, Makhachev has his sights set on featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 280.