Conor McGregor has once again found himself back in the headlines, going after ex-boxer Terence Crawford in the wake of Ilia Topuria’s shock defeat at the UFC’s White House event.
Topuria’s lightweight title reign came to an abrupt, and bloody, end on the South Lawn in Washington, where Justin Gaethje stopped the champ to claim UFC gold in front of a global audience.
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But the fallout quickly drifted beyond the Octagon.
Topuria had previously called out Crawford for a boxing match, and “Bud” saw the moment to twist the knife after the defeat.
He posted on X: “This the guy that said he would knock me out and whoop me and Shakur [Stevenson] at the same time?”
Boxing and MMA fans quickly piled into the comments, but it was an unexpected show of support from Irish UFC icon McGregor that grabbed attention.
“What the f**k are you saying?” McGregor replied.
“You can wrestle, yet you are afraid of an MMA fight. That to me is pitiful.
“The kid was beaten in an MMA fight, of which you don’t have the courage for.
“What the f**k was with all these little boxers at this show yet no MMA fighters? #TheseBoysAintManEnough.”
Crawford, regarded by many as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in boxing history, wasted little time firing back at “The Notorious”.
“Shut yo drunk ass up and get ready for yo fight,” he posted.
“He got his ass whooped like you did running yo mouth.
“I don’t have to come and fight in the cage. That’s the joy of boxing. Y’all come to us. We don’t have to come to y’all.”
McGregor quickly returned serve, borrowing a famous line from MMA cult hero Nick Diaz.
“Don’t be scared, homie,” he wrote.
Crawford wasn’t done.
“Still to this day, no matter what y’all say or how you feel, boxing is still and will forever be the hardest sport to do at a top level.”
The Irishman needed only five words in response.
“I guess we’ll never know.”
The exchange continued as Crawford doubled down on boxing’s standing in the combat sports world.
“I don’t care what sport you do, they all wanna learn how to box,” he wrote.
“Even the soccer moms wanna put the gloves on and do punch fitness. You don’t see them training to do MMA for other sports.
“We are not the same.
“But I respect the hell outta y’all, I’m just saying.”
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Whether Crawford responds again remains to be seen.
McGregor, meanwhile, is counting down the days until his own return, with the Irishman set to face Max Holloway on Sunday, July 12, in one of the most anticipated fights of the year.