Ever eager to remain in the spotlight, it didn’t take long for Conor McGregor to embark on a Twitter spree in the wake of UFC 261 – but fans had a word of caution as the Irishman targeted welterweight king Kamaru Usman.
Usman retained his 170lbs title with a spectacular one-punch knockout of Jorge Masvidal in front of a 15,000-strong capacity crowd in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday night – and the scenes whetted McGregor’s appetite for his own return in front of the fans for a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas on July 10.
Also on rt.com Kamaru Usman OBLITERATES Jorge Masvidal with massive KO in welterweight title clash at UFC 261 (VIDEO)Casting an eye over the proceedings, the former two-weight champion said the presence of a full house of fans for the first time during the pandemic had left him “salivating like a dog”.
McGregor also seemed to have scrutinized Usman’s performance, which he claimed bore similarities to his own last fight against Poirier.
“Usman even copying my shots now,” McGregor tweeted to his social media following of more than 45 million across Twitter and Instagram, sharing footage from his January contest.
“Am I to fight this guy at some stage? I think so. Can’t be copying my words and my shots and not get a smack for it. I like 170. It’s mine soon.”
The insinuation seemed to be that Usman’s knockout blow – which came with a crunching right hand – was somehow similar to McGregor’s own technique when landing with his famous left paw.
Taking it further, the Dubliner claimed he would see to business at lightweight this year before stepping up to 170lbs to meet the Nigerian Nightmare.
“I’m a block at 170 guys. Give me till end of year at this 155 weight. I’ll get the strap and then I’ll go up again,” McGregor tweeted.
Fans were skeptical – with even McGregor supporters warning him not to bite off more than he can chew with the formidable Usman, who made it 14 straight wins in the UFC octagon on Saturday.
“He would pull your pants down, let’s be honest here,” replied one fan.
“Conor, I love you but he’d rip you in half,” wrote another.
“I love you Connor man but Usman Kills you please don’t take that fight,” read one reply.
Another MMA fan shared a slow-mo clip of the thunderous Usman punch which finished Masvidal, warning: “Usman will clap you bro.”
Former featherweight and lightweight champion McGregor stepped up to 170lbs for his double-header with Nate Diaz in 2016 and also defeated Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at welterweight in January of last year.
His attentions are now firmly focused at 155lbs, however, with the immediate and not inconsiderable challenge of Poirier lying ahead.
McGregor dragging up footage from his last contest with the American may come as a surprise to some, considering it was Poirier who would land the decisive strikes in that fight to hand McGregor his first-ever KO defeat inside the cage.
The pair head into the trilogy at 1-1, with the winner standing a good chance of earning the next crack at the lightweight title.
The 155lbs strap – formally vacated by retired Russian champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in March – will be contested by former Bellator king Michael Chandler and surging Brazilian contender Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 on May 16.
According to McGregor’s logic, he would see off Poirier, recapture the lightweight crown and then come gunning for Usman in 2022 – which would be quite the leap, even for a man of McGregor’s prodigious self-confidence.
Elsewhere in his UFC 261 Twitter volley, McGregor found time to take a shot at YouTuber-turned-boxing wannabe Jake Paul, who was cageside in Florida on Saturday night and clashed with former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier.
Also on rt.com ‘I’ll slap him’: Ex-champ Cormier in furious exchange with Jake Paul at UFC 261 as Dana White condemns ‘circus’ (VIDEO)“UFC high level fighting > Blogger jackass boxing,” McGregor tweeted in a thinly-veiled barb.
However, the Irishman struck a more serious tone when wishing Chris Weidman a swift recovery after the middleweight veteran suffered a horrific leg break after just 17 seconds of his fight with Uriah Hall at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
“Hoping Chris Weidman has full recovery! Never nice to see. Crazy is the calf kick. No skill, balance, or flexibility, or anything does it take,” McGregor wrote.
“It’s like watching a punt of a pig skin in the 50s. Up the yard! Crazy how it can go either way. One great for you, or real bad against.”
Although McGregor was knocked out by Poirier in his last fight, both fighters later acknowledged that the American had laid the foundations for that success with a series of punishing calf kicks.
McGregor afterwards admitted that his leg had swollen up "like an American football" as a result.
Also on rt.com 'Sick to my stomach': UFC middleweight Chris Weidman suffers horrific leg break against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 (GRAPHIC)