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UFC superstar Conor “Notorious” McGregor set the internet ablaze on Thursday afternoon when he tweeted: “I accept!” Before McGregor sent out the “I accept!” tweet, Russian-born fighter Khamzat Chimaev asked for a fight with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Notorious.
Chimaev tweeted: “I’m getting bored, please @danawhite give me @NateDiaz209 @GamebredFighter @TheNotoriousMMA same night. I can smash all these guys… I’m not cocky guy I’m just confident. I understand if they don’t want to fight me.”
It’s unclear if McGregor was responding to Chimaev’s tweet or if he was talking about another fight or opportunity. Here is the sequence of tweets:
A half-hour later, Notorious tweeted: “I accept!”
I accept!
Chimaev responded to McGregor’s tweet, telling the Irishman to “beg” him.
The Russian then followed his reply up, tweeting: “Call your uncle @danawhite I will be ready.”
Chimaev made his UFC debut on July 15 when he fought John Phillips at middleweight and submitted him in the second round. He returned to action 10 days later to earn his second UFC victory when he finished Rhys McKee in the first round.
On Monday, Chimaev took aim at Notorious after the Irishman wrote “Rat lip” on a recent post of Chimaev on the UFC’s Instagram. Chimaev called him out, tweeting: “@TheNotoriousMMA Tab machine king chicken heart @danawhite i’m hungry give me Give me dessert.”
The Russian, who currently lives and trains in Sweden, then shared a “true story” about him flying to Ireland in 2018 to “beat up” McGregor. He tweeted: “True story I flew to Ireland before Khabib fight to beat up Conor [McGregor] for what he said about our honor but they would not let me in the country. You need big security [Conor McGregor] weak man.”
Chimaev is currently 8-0 in his professional MMA career with all wins coming via stoppage — five by TKO or KO and three by submission.
Dana White Confirmed That There Are Currently No Negotiations Going on for McGregor vs. Chimaev at This Time
After McGregor posted the tweet, TMZ reached out to UFC president Dana White to ask him about the potential fight. White said that there was no official fight currently being discussed, and when asked if it was possible for the two to compete against each other inside the Octagon, White responded: “Probably not but who knows?!”
White also said that the UFC was currently working on another fight for Chimaev which would take place on August 29th.
McGregor last competed in January when he defeated Donald Cerrone in a welterweight match.
Out of all of Notorious’ potential opponents, Chimaev likely ranks low on the Irishman’s list. The Russian is a rising UFC star but rematches between Nate Diaz and Floyd Mayweather or a fight with Jorge Masvidal may be more enticing for McGregor.
Some Fans Speculated That McGregor May Be Accepting a Fight With Tony Ferguson
McGregor did not specifically say what he was accepting. He could be talking about another fight or opportunity — he may also be trolling the MMA community.
Top lightweight contender Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson recently expressed interest in fighting McGregor as well. In a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Ferguson said: “You want Conor, give me Conor. You want Poirier, we’ll make it happen, then we’ll fight for the winner of the Gaethje and Khabib fight.”
El Cucuy is currently ranked No. 3 and Notorious is ranked No. 4. From a rankings standpoint, the match would make a lot of sense — the winner of the match could potentially earn a shot at the winner of UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champ Justin Gaethje.
@TheNotoriousMMA You’re dead, kid. 🇮🇪 👑 ☘️
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