[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s “GOAT thread” on Twitter was the talk of the MMA world Saturday, and it ruffled the feathers of some key rivals.
McGregor ranked his top four MMA fighters of all time on social media, putting himself in the running for No. 1, but at worst, No. 2. He listed Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] in the conversation, as well, and it wasn’t long before the replies poured in.
Jones was the first to pay indirect recognition to McGregor’s list. He wouldn’t engage in the semantics of the debate, but told the Irishman to achieve something that everyone else had done: Register a successful UFC title defense (via Twitter):
đ€« And Still
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 23, 2020
Try that one first lad
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 23, 2020
Iâm not going to debate on who is the goat, Iâll let the fans do that for me.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 23, 2020
[autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag], who is the only man to have fought McGregor twice, fired back with much more hard-hitting reply. He pointed to his short-notice victory over McGregor at UFC 196 in March 2016, and Diaz has long believed he won the rematch at UFC 202, as well (via Twitter):
Smoked the #1 p4p and double champ
know the real đ when you see him
And donât for get I did it better and quicker than anyone else on the ground and sent him down with punches quicker than Mayweather did so fuck alll yâall rankings and know a real goat when you see me pic.twitter.com/wHmDqVERmf— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) May 23, 2020
Then came UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], who is McGregor’s most hated rival. “The Eagle” never has been one to mince words about McGregor, and the deep-seeded nature of their emotions was on display during their memorable bout at UFC 229 in October 2018.
Nurmagomedov went hard on McGregor’s resume, pointing out that he’s suffered submission losses in three different weight classes, with their UFC 229 meeting being one of those times (via Twitter):
you tapped out in featherweight , you tapped out in lightweight and you tapped in welterweight , you never defended title in the UFC or Cage Warriors , you gave up more than GSP , Spider and Bones all together.
you greatest @ufc fighter in twitter history.— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) May 24, 2020
McGregor does not have a fight booked at this time. He’s expressed interest in potentially returning in the coming months, but UFC president Dana White has openly expressed hesitance to put on a McGregor fight during the coronavirus pandemic because the company would not be able to cash in a live gate.
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