Kamaru Usman has played down Conor McGregor’s calls for a shot at the UFC welterweight title, dismissing the Irishhman as a “loudmouth little kid”.
McGregor became the first dual-weight champion in UFC history in 2016, winning the lightweight belt almost a year after claiming featherweight gold.
McGregor has also fought at welterweight on three occasions in the UFC and has expressed his desire to challenge Usman for the title later this year.
The 33-year-old McGregor is recovering from a broken leg that he sustained in a loss to Dustin Poirier last summer, with the Irishman having only recently returned to sparring.
“Right now, we’ve kind of got Leon Edwards sitting there [as the next challenger],” Usman told TMZ.
“You’ve got the other loudmouth little kid. What’s his name? The Irish kid, the Irish guy. You’ve got the Irish guy on the side, running his mouth, too.
“You forget [about him], but this is why you forget: You forget because this guy is not relevant. He hasn’t done anything in this sport as of late.
“So, in order for him to be relevant, he has to try to attach his name to someone who is relevant.”
McGregor’s July defeat by Poirier was his second loss to the American in seven months, with Poirier having knocked out “Notorious” last January.
Prior to 2021, McGregor (22-6) had not fought more than once in a year since 2016.
He was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018 before stopping Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in 2020.
Meanwhile, Usman (20-1) has been an active champion, having fought three times last year while extending his win streak to 19.
