Conor McGregor might have a rivalry with another Brazilian brewing.
The brash No. 1 featherweight contender has spoken often about moving up and taking on the elite of the lightweight division. In a scrum at UFC Fight Night 62, UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos had a suggestion for McGregor: “Stay at featherweight.”
McGregor was none too pleased about the champ’s words when asked about them Monday during the UFC 189 World Tour press conference in London.
“There’s another man who has spoke my name in vain,” McGregor said. “And what happens is, when you speak my name in vain, no matter how many years down the line, I’m like an elephant — I’ll never forget. I’ll come and get you.”
McGregor, 26, has a date with featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 189 on July 11 in Las Vegas. If you ask him, though, a move up to lightweight is a formality. Making the 146-pound maximum at featherweight is tough for McGregor and 155 would be a much more natural weight class.
Dos Anjos, who dominated Anthony Pettis and took the belt at UFC 185 on March in Dallas, doesn’t think it would be such a wise move, though.
“What does he want with me?” dos Anjos said. “He has a big opponent in front of him with Aldo. Tell him to stay at featherweight because here (at 155 pounds) it is going to be tough for him.”
McGregor actually started the back and forth, as he has been known to do, during the UFC 189 World Tour stop in Los Angeles last week when asked about moving up to lightweight.
“We will take Aldo and we will take dos Anjos, without a problem,” McGregor said during a media lunch. “The featherweights must beg now. They must beg for pardon, beg for forgiveness. If that’s the case, if they apologize and beg, I’ll leave the division. I won’t terrorize them anymore. They can have their division back. They can go back to being on the prelims and I’ll go to the lightweight division.”
McGregor added a little message of his own for dos Anjos on Monday.
“So, guess what Raphael?” he said. “I’m coming to get you, too.”