Conor McGregor has responded furiously after UFC boss Dana White said the Irishman was “not the man anymore” and that UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was the one calling the shots.
Discussing potential match-ups for Nurmagomedov and McGregor earlier this week, White said the undefeated Russian held all the cards when dictating potential future match-ups.
“Khabib is the man now,” White told the Boston Globe ahead of the UFC event in the city at TD Garden on Friday night.
“Conor isn’t the man anymore, so Khabib gets to sit back and call the shots.”
That news appears to have filtered through to ‘The Notorious’ as he fired off an invective-filled social media message on Saturday.
“Who’s not the man? Your man had that marquee event did he? More like an event in a marquee.
“A tent in the f*cking sand it was. Keep spoofing to your self horse. Jock strap sniffer championships,” McGregor raged as he referenced Nurmagomedov’s title unification fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi in September.
Who’s not the man? Your man had that marquee event did he? More like an event in a marquee. A tent in the fucking sand it was. Keep spoofing to your self horse. Jock strap sniffer championships.
Being seen as playing second fiddle – or even worse – to the Russian clearly doesn’t sit well with McGregor, a man so used to being the golden boy of the promotion given his sensational octagon performances and media presence outside of it.
But with the tables turned following his defeat to Nurmagomedov in Las Vegas last October, McGregor is now kicking his heels as he awaits a UFC return.
He has recently talked up a potential bout against featherweight contender Frankie Edgar, although UFC chief White said this week that the bout “wasn’t happening.”
Instead, he has urged McGregor to look elsewhere.
“Next month at Madison Square Garden, we’ve got [Nate] Diaz vs [Jorge] Masvidal, sold out,so whoever wins that fight could fight McGregor,” White said.
“We’ve got ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, we’ve got Justin Gaethje, but what Conor wants right now really is the Khabib rematch. So we’ll see how that whole thing plays out.”
Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, has told McGregor he will need to “get in line”if he is to stand any chance of a second shot at ‘The Eagle’.
Instead, the Russian fighter is widely expected to face longtime rival Tony Ferguson in March or April of next year, with Nurmagomedov saying the American deserved the fight far more than McGregor.
