Conor McGregor is back on social media with another call-out, this time taking shots at the Nurmagomedov family in a response that has since been deleted.
Just a week ago, it was announced that McGregor would return to the Octagon in June for International Fight Week, settling the uncertainty surrounding his status. The fight is set to happen in the middleweight division, marking the highest weight for both McGregor and his opponent Michael Chandler.
Given the ongoing rivalry between McGregor and former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, tensions between the two camps are nothing new. McGregor recently targeted Khabib's cousin, undefeated UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov. In a now-deleted tweet, McGregor hinted at a recent drug-related scandal in the Nurmagomedov family as a possible reason for Umar's hiatus. McGregor threw steroid accusations at the #14 ranked UFC bantamweight in response to Umar's post on January 8.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70163101/1297441732.0.jpg)
"I often get accused of long lay offs in between fights," Nurmagomedov said. "But it's not always up to me. I'm ready to fight on February 17th or March 9th, but not one single fighter in my division wants to fight me."
I often get accused of long lay offs in between my fights, but it’s not always up to me. I'm ready to fight on February 17th or March 9th, but not 1 single fighter in my division wants to fight me 🤷🏻♂️
— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) January 8, 2024
“Your younger brother popped for steroids, that’s 4 now out of your family caught on steroids while fighting.”
In this post, McGregor is talking about Umar's younger brother, Usman Nurmagomedov, who hasn't lost a fight in 17 tries. Usman recently beat Brent Primus in a unanimous decision, but after a failed drug test, the result was changed to a no contest. Usman had to take a six-month suspension and pay a $50,000 fine.
Before the Primus fight, Nurmagomedov had a really famous finish in a title defense against former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. After a perfectly placed question mark kick by the Russian champion that dropped Henderson, Nurmagomedov took control on the ground and finished the match with a cleverly set up rear naked choke.
Beautiful question mark kick by Usman Nurmagomedov followed by ground and pound, and a RNC choke to beat Benson Henderson in the first round at #Bellator292 Flawless performance by Usman! pic.twitter.com/1dauINcSSm
— AlAudhli 𝕏 العوذلي (@AAudhli) March 11, 2023
McGregor is planning to make his UFC comeback later this year against Michael Chandler. He's thinking about returning on June 29th, but the UFC hasn't officially announced it yet.
His beef with the Nurmagomedovs are far from over, and McGregor takes every chance he gets to criticize the family.