A lot of fighters have taken shots at Conor McGregor over the years but Kamaru Usman went for the jugular when asked about the former two-division champion.
Because McGregor is the biggest draw in the sport, trash talk is commonplace where he’s concerned but the UFC welterweight champion didn’t just insult the Irish superstar when asked for an opinion about him just recently.
Usman, who has engaged in a war of words with McGregor in recent months, believes that “The Notorious” has lost his edge when it comes to fighting but he can still talk a good game.
“He’s a loudmouth,” Usman said about McGregor when speaking to ESPN. “He’s a guy that can compete but he’s not the champion, Conor McGregor. He’s not the double champion. He’s not that guy anymore. He’s just a guy that’s in the UFC. If he wasn’t Conor, hasn’t done the things that he’s done, he would just be a regular fight.
“The level of respect he gets now, he’s just a regular fighter with a lot of money and a lot of hype and recognition. The old Conor, the hungry Conor, that was the fighter that fighters respected. Now, not that we don’t respect him at all, he’s still a UFC fighter, but he’s just a regular fighter.”
Since becoming a two-division UFC champion in 2016, McGregor has only fought in the UFC on three occasions while amassing a 1-2 record in those contests. He lost by fourth-round submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov and then suffered the first knockout loss of his MMA career after Dustin Poirier finished him back in January.
McGregor is now preparing for another fight against Poirier in July at UFC 264.
While it’s hard to argue against McGregor’s career accomplishments where he was the first fighter in UFC history to hold two divisional titles simultaneously, Usman feels like those best days are now behind him.
That’s another reason why Usman isn’t really entertaining a possible fight against McGregor but he’ll never turn down the opportunity to defend his title and make a pile of cash at the same time.
“Loudmouth. Just a loudmouth,” Usman said about McGregor. “He does more talking now than he does fighting. Conor McGregor’s not someone I worry about ever.
“If he wants to fight me, he knows where to find me. He can call me and we’ll make that fight happen.”
Because McGregor is the biggest draw in the sport, trash talk is commonplace where he’s concerned but the UFC welterweight champion didn’t just insult the Irish superstar when asked for an opinion about him just recently.
Usman, who has engaged in a war of words with McGregor in recent months, believes that “The Notorious” has lost his edge when it comes to fighting but he can still talk a good game.
“He’s a loudmouth,” Usman said about McGregor when speaking to ESPN. “He’s a guy that can compete but he’s not the champion, Conor McGregor. He’s not the double champion. He’s not that guy anymore. He’s just a guy that’s in the UFC. If he wasn’t Conor, hasn’t done the things that he’s done, he would just be a regular fight.
“The level of respect he gets now, he’s just a regular fighter with a lot of money and a lot of hype and recognition. The old Conor, the hungry Conor, that was the fighter that fighters respected. Now, not that we don’t respect him at all, he’s still a UFC fighter, but he’s just a regular fighter.”
Since becoming a two-division UFC champion in 2016, McGregor has only fought in the UFC on three occasions while amassing a 1-2 record in those contests. He lost by fourth-round submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov and then suffered the first knockout loss of his MMA career after Dustin Poirier finished him back in January.
McGregor is now preparing for another fight against Poirier in July at UFC 264.
While it’s hard to argue against McGregor’s career accomplishments where he was the first fighter in UFC history to hold two divisional titles simultaneously, Usman feels like those best days are now behind him.
That’s another reason why Usman isn’t really entertaining a possible fight against McGregor but he’ll never turn down the opportunity to defend his title and make a pile of cash at the same time.
“Loudmouth. Just a loudmouth,” Usman said about McGregor. “He does more talking now than he does fighting. Conor McGregor’s not someone I worry about ever.
“If he wants to fight me, he knows where to find me. He can call me and we’ll make that fight happen.”
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