Kamaru Usman clapped back at Conor McGregor after his recent comments towards him.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) went off on just about everyone in a fan Q&A, and former UFC welterweight champion Usman was also targeted.
“Usman is talking crazy right now,” McGregor said on a live stream with Duelbits (h/t Championship Rounds on X). “Where’s Usman right now? The little bald Malteser head – what happened in his last fight again? I can’t even remember where you’re at in your game, bro, yeah? You’re nothing to me.”
Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) is confused by McGregor going after him as well.
“At what point does this become more than money?” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “At what point does this become the integrity of the sport? Listen, at the end of the day, Conor is who Conor is. Conor has done some pretty fantastic things in this sport of mixed martial arts, for the UFC. He has. But Conor, so have I. You were a champion – so was I. So at the end of the day, where I have a little issue is you come around saying, ‘He’s a bum,’ or he’s this. You can’t say that, Conor.
“I didn’t kick him while he was down. He’s had run-ins with the law. He’s had back-to-back incidents and situations, but you never heard me sit there and kick the man while he was down. There needs to be some level of respect here because at the end of the day, that’s what this sport is all about. The respect and the discipline we all put in to get to the top of the sport. That seems to be something that he’s lacking.”
McGregor also had choice words for UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, title challenger Belal Muhammad, and UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
Usman reminds former dual-champion McGregor that he welcomed a fight with him multiple times in the past when he was in the welterweight title picture.
“For you to say, ‘Oh, Ilia Topuria, he’s a bum’ – he’s not a bum,” Usman said. “He’s the champion of the world right now. I’m not a bum, clearly, because if you wanted an opportunity to fight me … I gave Conor two opportunities to fight me while I was champion. I told him, ‘Hey, if you want a crack at that third belt, who better?’ I was on the run that I was on. Who better for you to come up and fight?
“He talked about it. He bounced back-and-forth when he wanted to make his return: ‘Maybe I’ll go up and grab the third belt.’ It is what it is, Conor. If you wanted to fight, you had your opportunity – but you didn’t. To call me a bum is kind of disrespectful. I didn’t disrespect you when you were having your troubles. So, my man, I think it’s sometimes easier, and it’s better – well, it’s not easier … it’s better if you put that whiskey bottle down and actually come back to your wits and be a good father and a good role model.”
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) returns in a welterweight bout against Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at UFC 303 June 29 in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
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