It was only a matter of time before Conor McGregor commented on the outcome of the UFC 280 main event after Islam Makhachev defeated Charles Oliveira to become the new lightweight champion.
While he’s teased a return to action as a welterweight, the Irish superstar has a long-standing grudge against Makhachev’s team — primarily his head coach Khabib Nurmagomedov — after they engaged in a volatile rivalry before finally meeting in 2018.
McGregor expressed appreciation for Makhachev’s performance, after Oliveira was pinned with an arm triangle choke in round 2. But he quickly shifted gears to detail all the reasons why he would vanquish the Russian should they ever meet.
“Nice fight. McGregor tweeted, “Nice fight. McGregor wrote on Twitter that he had all the tools in place to defeat this type of style. Experience vs. ***. Face breaking shots from clinch and baby brain batter shots from bottom. And the rest of my repertoire yous know. Steel left leg. Cannon back hand. Wrist control.
“The thought of shutting down this system of fighting with my own developed system is quite intriguing to me. Whoever of them against. It is not personal. It is a battle and skill assessment. It can be passed down through the generations. The [IMMAF’s], amateurs. A war of attrition. To the box.”
Nice fight. nice performance. I have built all the tools to beat this style now Vs b4. Experience Vs . Face breaking shots from clinch and baby brain batter shots from bottom. You’ll also be familiar with the rest of my repertoire. Steel left leg. Cannon back hand. Wrist control.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 23, 2022
The idea of combining my developed system with this fighting system to shut down is very intriguing to me. They are all against each other. It is not personal. It’s a skill evaluation and a fight. It can be passed down through generations. The imaafs, amateurs. A war of attrition. The box.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 23, 2022
When McGregor references now versus before, he’s talking about his own fight against Nurmagomedov, which played out in dominant fashion for the undefeated lightweight from Dagestan. Nurmagomedov controlled the majority of the fight both on the feet and on the ground before eventually wrapping up a rear-naked choke/neck crank that forced McGregor to tap out.
Since that fight, McGregor has gone just 1-2 in his past three outings with a win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and a pair of losses to Dustin Poirier. The second defeat to Poirier ended with McGregor suffering a gruesome broken leg that’s kept him sidelined for over a year.
McGregor took aim at Nurmagomedov, too. He has since retired but is Makhachev’s biggest fan and head coach.
” I have the system for hurting this fighting style, McGregor stated. “Bro is a s*** jocks. Fat mouth, shut your mouth you done nothing tonight except go against father’s wishes and run. It’s not father’s plan completed yet, pal. It’s all in your head. You are known by your people .”
I have the system to hurt this style of fighting guys I am telling you. Bro is a shit jocks. You have done nothing but to run against the wishes of fathers. It’s not fathers plan completed yet, pal. It’s all in your head. You know what your people think.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 23, 2022
While Nurmagomedov has made it clear that he’s done with fighting, Makhachev now stands tall as the best fighter in the world at 155 pounds, so perhaps he’ll entertain renewing the rivalry with McGregor once the former two-division UFC champion returns to action.
Right now, McGregor is in the middle of filming his part in the new Road House movie in the Dominican Republic, and there’s no word when he might book his next fight in the UFC.
