Despite his long absence from the octagon, Conor McGregor looms large in the UFC world. And why not? The Irishman remains by far the biggest star in the entire sport despite not having fought for the past three years. Another clear example of this came when featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, gearing up to defend his belt against Max Holloway, insulted ‘Mac’ yet again.

To be fair ‘El Matador’s utter contempt for the motor-mouth Dubliner didn’t come out of nowhere. In a recent interview with ‘Shak MMA’, Topuria was asked a very pointed question: “Why is it that Conor McGregor deletes so many of his tweets?”

And Topuria, who is never one to pull his punches, felt it was because ‘Mac’ is just childish in how he responds when called out. “Because he’s a p***y. He’s like a small kid, you know. He’s like a kid- I insult you, I write you, I don’t know, some s**t on the social media, and then I delete it. Bro go f**k yourself,” the featherweight champ said.

Conor McGregor, of course, is well known for going on vitriol-filled rants on his social media accounts if someone or something rubs him the wrong way or even mildly criticizes him. And once he gets a bit of backlash, or realizes he has gone too far, the former two-division champion deletes his tweets.

Fans will remember the Irishman’s incredibly distasteful tweet at the death of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father, essentially calling the latter ‘evil’ after he passed away due to Covid-19. Another memorable now-deleted tweet was when ‘The Notorious’ said he would “celebrate” when Khabib’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz dies. And Topuria feels this is down to ‘Mac’ being childish and unable to take even the most anonymous criticism. And the Spaniard would know something about being targeted by McGregor online since he has been on the receiving end of ‘Mac’s rants more than anyone recently.

Conor McGregor christens Ilia Topuria with new nickname amid ongoing feud

Of course, Topuria and McGregor have been feuding for the past year. ‘El Matador’ even called out ‘Mac’ right after winning the featherweight title at UFC 298 this February, only to later brand the former champion ‘unworthy’ of facing him, at least at the moment.

And McGregor, of course, has responded in kind and insults ‘El Matador’ every chance he gets. Most recently the Irishman called Topuria (who hails from Georgia and only became a Spanish citizen this year) a fake Spaniard, as well as suggesting a new moniker for the featherweight champion. “Little puppy paws he [Topuria] has. Check the little puppy paws on him. He is Spanish, is he? Has he a fight nickname, this guy? I now christen him “The Puppy,”” McGregor tweeted.

And Topuria of course, has not been silent. The Georgia native had previously threatened to end McGregor’s life if they ever ran into each other in the street. But now it seems he is taking a more lenient view towards McGregor as the Irishman befits a ‘small child’ in the Spaniard’s words. What are your thoughts on Ilia Topuria’s fresh salvo at Conor McGregor?