Conor McGregor is not short on potential opponents for his comeback fight, with two of UFC 274’s protagonists having called out the Irishman on Saturday night.
In the main event, Charles Oliveira submitted Justin Gaethje in the first round to establish himself as No 1 contender to the lightweight title, of which the Brazilian was stripped on Friday after missing weight.
Had Gaethje won, he would have claimed the vacant belt, but the former interim champion succumbed to a rear naked choke after a chaotic start to the main event.
Oliveira, who has expressed a strong desire over the last 12 months for a clash with McGregor, shouted after his victory: “Hey, [UFC president] Dana White, I don’t care; put anybody in front of me, I’m not going to choose.
“Conor McGregor, are you coming up or are you going to run away?”
McGregor took to Twitter to respond: “Called it. Even if [Gaethje] knocked him down [he’s] too s*** to be able to follow him down and do anything substantial. Always Charles’s fight.
“I’m not sure I wish to cut the weight [to 155lbs]. I am really enjoying being built like a refrigerator. I feel I want to fight at this size just to watch it back lol.
“But I’d love to fight the Brazilian, 100%! I love Brazil and I’m unbeaten against Brazil. All KO’s. I’ve some thinking to do.”
Earlier in the night, Michael Chandler had knocked out Tony Ferguson and proceeded to call out McGregor, acknowledging the Irishman’s current physique by suggesting a welterweight meeting.
Chandler stopped Ferguson, who was previously signed to the same management team as McGregor, with a front kick to the face in Round 2. McGregor and Ferguson have traded words on Twitter in recent months, and “Notorious” used the platform to reply to Chandler’s callout while also taking a swipe at Ferguson.
“I’d have a nice knock off this guy [Chandler], no doubt about it,” McGregor wrote. “A firework spectacle. I like the 170 shout also. Tipped him over.
“I’m definitely game to fight this guy at some stage in my career. I see it happening after tonight. Congrats on a solid win Michael and another barnstormer.
“Tony had some great nuggets in the media build up. Then he got punt kicked to the chin and got turned into a nugget himself. That’s crazy.”
“If you pulled that out of a McDonald’s bag you’d dip it in sauce and eat without a moment’s thought,” McGregor continued, attaching a picture of Ferguson receiving the front kick from Chandler.
“No doubt. That would pass as a legit @McDonalds chicken nugget. That’s Crazy!”
