Islam Makhachev's manager believes Conor McGregor would rather go to prison than fight the Russian lightweight.
McGregor is currently out of action as he continues his rehabilitation from a broken leg injury suffered against Dustin Poirier.
And he has been linked with a number of opponents upon his UFC return including rising star Makhachev.
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But the Russian's manager Ali Abdelaziz believes McGregor would avoid taking on his charge, with a preference to go to prison.
"At the end of the day, all these guys are going to fight each other," he told MMA Junkie. "If Justin Gaethje wins, he's gonna fight for the title, if Conor McGregor wants to get one more a**-whooping from the Dagestani mafia, we can give it to him, you know.
"Listen, at the the end of the day he's still talking, he still insulted people, assaulted people. Still going to jail but listen, being locked in jail or being locked with Islam Makhachev? I think he would choose jail."
Makhachev is one of the hottest prospects at 155lbs and has climbed into fifth position in the UFC rankings, after victory over Thiago Moises.
The Russian will not face the Irishman soon however, with Dan Hooker scheduled as his next challenge at UFC 266.
He accepted the bout as a later-replacement after Brazilian contender Rafael Dos Anjos was forced to withdraw.
Meanwhile McGregor has slid down the UFC rankings, moving below the 30-year-old to No.9 in the lightweight category.
Although the 33-year-old's status in the top ten has been questioned by Rafael Fiziev, who is currently ranked five places behind McGregor in 14th position.
"Conor lost so many fights and still in the top 10," Fiziev said in an interview with Vestnik MMA. "When did he last win a fight at lightweight?"
But the Irish star has not just faced critics for his actions inside the cage.
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His rivalry with Makhachev's friend Khabib Nurmagomedov has continued to stir on social media since their historic UFC 229 meeting.
A series of deleted tweets aimed at both the Russian's late father and children prompted a lengthy rant from his former opponent.
McGregor has also had online feuds with Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier in recent weeks.
And former middleweight champion Bisping has explained the reasoning behind McGregor's actions on social media, from a fighter perspective.
He told The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast: “Fighters, we have to have this self-belief in ourselves that borders on the delusional. I guess I had that. I know for a fact when I was fighting.
“People used to think I was delusional. But you have to have that. You have to have that belief in yourself. If you don’t have that then you’re probably not going to go very far as a fighter.”
“For [Conor], right now, that’s the best way he can deal with losing these fights. I’m not making excuses for him, far from it, because I was at the receiving end of some of his b******* recently as well."
McGregor is currently in Italy, awaiting collection of his new £2.6 million Lamborghini yacht as his wealthy endeavours continue.
