Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has sent a message to the recently retired former dual weight UFC champion Conor McGregor. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has told the Irish superstar he’ll be waiting at the top of the division should McGregor find the courage to face him.
Usman is riding high off his lopsided win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251. During an interview with TMZ Sports a potential fight with McGregor came up and Usman says ‘Notorious’ has already turned down one chance at the welterweight title as he is more interested in fighting blown up lightweight with double-digit losses on their records, he said.
“That’s a lost conversation. That’s a lost cause. We both know Conor gets up to the welterweight division if he’s able to pick and choose lightweights with double-digit losses that he can pick off and not have to cut weight to get down to lightweight. That’s the only time. If Conor wants a piece at welterweight, he knows who the king of the division is. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here,” Usman said.
“I offered him a shot. I said, ‘Hey, if you want it, it’s yours, you got it,’ and he was silent. Days later Anderson Silva says, ‘Hey, let’s do it’ and he responded and said ‘yeah’. So, it’s clear right there to know if Conor is willing to step up and take a fight like this or not but I think he’s a wise guy so I think he should stay retired.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
McGregor took to social media to retire in the aftermath of UFC 250 earlier this year. The 33-year-old revealed he had become demotivated by the lack of fight options and decided to walk away from the sport to focus on his family and various business venture. This is McGregor’s third retirement in four years. Many still hope he will be convinced to return to fighting although UFC president Dana White and the fighters long-time coach seem adamant the retirement is real.
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