According to UFC president Dana White, Conor McGregor’s cryptic “I accept” tweet was meant for Khamzat Chimaev.
Chimaev (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who’s made waves as the UFC’s hot new prospect by splashing into the organization with two wins in 10 days, recently has taken aim at former two-division champ McGregor. The undefeated fighter told a story about attempting to travel to Ireland to find “The Notorious” back in 2018, then proceeded to call for a fight with him on social media.
On Thursday, McGregor posted his tweet about accepting something but offered no details about the who, what, when, or where. White said Friday what he thought it meant.
“That was (for) Khamzat,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after UFC on ESPN+ 31 weigh-ins. “Khamzat posted, ‘I want Nate Diaz, Masvidal then McGregor.’ And McGregor said, ‘I accept.’ That’s what that was.”
Not so fast.
McGregor told ESPN afterward that his tweet was not about Chimaev but declined to elaborate.
When pressed on whether he would actually be interested in making a fight between McGregor and Chimaev, White quickly brushed off the notion. He said McGregor’s retirement from MMA is serious after he declared as much on June 7. And even if he wasn’t, White said there are many more relevant fights for him.
“No (interest in actually making the Chimaev fight),” White said. “Listen, Conor’s retired, and Conor’s move right now is sit back, wait, and see how this year plays out and see what’s next for him. You know he wants the Khabib (Nurmagomedov) fight. That happens Oct. 24 (against Justin Gaethje). So, we’ll see.”
