Conor McGregor sent an extraordinary threat to kill Tom Aspinall, after the UFC heavyweight star said he was not interested in the Irishman’s comeback.
McGregor is to coach against Michael Chandler on the Ultimate Fighter reality show before fighting him at the end in what will be his first bout since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier.
The ‘Notorious’ has won only once since 2016 but remains the biggest name in MMA. Aspinall admitted he cares little about McGregor’s comeback, telling Jamal Niaz: ‘Honestly, I’m not that interested in it. I’ll still watch it but I’m kind of over McGregor to be honest.
‘For me, there’s way more exciting fights out there than that. The heavyweight fight coming up that I’m super invested in, the London card, Leon Edwards, I could sit here and name them all day.
‘There’s another 20 fights I’m more interested in. Will I watch it? Yeah, but if it gets cancelled, I won’t be upset about it.’
Tom Aspinall admitted he is not very interested in Conor McGregor’s comeback
McGregor has not fought since losing against Dustin Poirier back in July 2021 and hit back
His words enraged McGregor, who wrote in a now-deleted tweet: ‘Bum p***k. Say sayonara to that GK [Gym King] deal kid. Starve you and kill you, I will you f***ing disrespectful p***k. Don’t ever speak my name in disrespect again. Mush potato head.’
McGregor later tweeted: ‘Mush head rat keep your comments to yourself.’
On paper, McGregor vs Chandler is an extremely entertaining fight and will no doubt prove to be a lucrative one.
But after successive losses against Dustin Poirier before the long lay-off, the former two-weight champion is under massive pressure to win in order to become relevant in the title picture again.
He arrived in Las Vegas to start filming last week and the 34-year-old was seen entering the UFC Apex on Thursday.
‘I’m looking forward to it,’ McGregor said. ‘I’m looking forward to it, I feel good, I feel energetic, I feel ready.
Aspinall is on the comeback trail himself after suffering a nasty knee injury
McGregor insists he feels ‘energetic and ready’ as he prepares to make his UFC return
‘You know, I’m throwing up my high kicks faster than I’m throwing out my jab.
‘So I’m very excited to get back,’ he told the Mirror.
Aspinall, meanwhile, is also on the comeback trail and is training again having suffered a nasty knee injury in the opening seconds of his fight with Curtis Blaydes in London last year.
He will be watching Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane for the vacant title with great interest.