Khamzat Chimaev has taken a shot at Conor McGregor after calling out several UFC fighters for his next bout.
Rising star Chimaev recently picked up the biggest win of his career by outpointing former title challenger Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 last month. It was the first time 'Borz' reached the judges scorecards in 11 professional fights after stopping all of his previous opponents.
The Swede, who is now ranked No.2 at 170lb, has taken time to recuperate following his win but is now in the process of looking for his next opponent. Mocking McGregor for his recent inactivity after breaking his leg last year, Chimaev wrote to him on Twitter : "When is your holiday over?"
It's not the first time Chimaev has gone after McGregor, as he was once locked up for eight hours after flying to Ireland to try and confront McGregor for comments the former two-weight champion made about Dagestan.
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McGregor recalled the trip very differently, stating Chimaev offered him help to prepare for his title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018. It's unclear if the pair have ever met in person, but McGregor has also previously mocked Chimaev's lip scar by labelling him "rat lip".
But Chimaev has not always had bad things to say about the brash UFC star. Whilst working a night shift at his old job in Sweden, he credited McGregor's monumental knockout of Jose Aldo in 2015 and the payday he got from the fight as the reason he started to train MMA.
"I always look at that like ‘if these guys make so much money, like millions and this stuff, why can’t I do it? I have everything, I am fighter, I am warrior, I have something inside, and I felt that when I was born," he told ESPN.
Chimaev is only five fights deep into his UFC career but is one of the most talked about fighters in the promotion. He wants to beat McGregor in the race of becoming the UFC's first three-weight champion, recently calling out Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya for title fights.
McGregor is approaching the end of recovery for his broken tibia and is targeting a comeback fight later this year. The Irishman, who has also called out pound-for-pound No.1 Usman, confirmed to Mirror Fighting that he will compete at 170lb in his return after piling on muscle during his layoff.
