McGregor responds to Nurmagomedov and Woodley callouts

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor crushed lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 and then stood center cage with just one belt in hand. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan asked McGregor how he felt?

“Where the f@@ck is my second belt!?!?,” shouted McGregor, as transcribed by Paul Moore for Joe.ie. “Where’s the second at?! Cheap motherf***ers. Go backstage and grab that f***ing belt from somewhere. I only won it and you’re trying to take it from me already. What the f***!”

“They’re not on my level. You’ve got to have size, reach, length and other attributes. If you come at me anyway, I’m going to rip your whole head off at any time. Eddie is a solid competitor. Eddie’s a warrior, but he shouldn’t have been in here with me”.

“Thanks everyone for coming out, I f***ing love every one of you, I swear to god. You’ve traveled the world with me. You’re the reason why we’re at the top of the game, because of me and because of you.”

Then Rogan asked ‘Notorious’ what’s next.

“What’s next for me?” replied McGregor. “I’m gonna get that second belt. Where the f*** is it!?!? I’ve spent a lot of time, Joe, slating everyone in the company. Backstage, I’m standing here and fighting off everybody. I’ve ridiculed everyone on the roster and I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, I’d like to take this chance to apologize… to absolutely nobody!”

The ridicule reference was to McGregor’s chess-level trash talk, in a sport that does checkers-level insulting. Before the fight, McGregor, certain that would win, targeted the next two fighters he wanted – lightweight #1 contender Khabib Nurmagomedov and welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. McGregor had a brief beef at the buffet with Woodley, with an aperitif afterward. And he had words with Nurmagomedov.

Both fighters after their wins expressed an extreme interest in fighting McGregor. Nurmagomedov offered an extended multilingual callout.

I want to fight your chicken, bellowed Nurmagomedov to McGregor’s Irish fans Octagonside, as transcribed by Martin Rogers for USA Today. Let’s go with your chicken.

I want to stay humble. But I have to talk because the other guys talk too much and … I understand the crazy power the UFC PR machine has.

(McGregor), at the beginning of the year he tapped like a chicken but at the end of the year he is fighting for the title. Crazy.

After winning, McGregor said there were a couple of things he needed before his next fight. One, his child was due in May. And two, he wanted equity. After that he was ready, but he expressed reservations about Nurmagomedov.

“He’s fought once in eight years,” said McGregor afterward, as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting. “He ain’t fight too frequent for my liking. For me to commit to something like that, I need to see solid proof that people are gonna show up and he’s a consistent pull-out merchant. He had a good performance tonight. Fair play to him.

“I need to see active. I need to see activity. I need to see consistency. I need to see me. If you want me to come and change your life, if you want me to come pick you, you better have some damn reasons for me to do that.”

Woodley said McGregor would be a mismatch.

To be just straight up honest, Conor McGregor is a guy that fought at 145 – ever in his life, said Woodley as transcribed by John Morgan and Dann Stupp for MMAjunkie. I haven’t weighed 145 since my sophomore year of high school.

Woodley declined, however, to describe it as too much of a mismatch.

I’m not going to say that, he said. Because he’s tall, he has long arms, he has good timing, and when you’ve got good timing like that, you can place good punches. But I’m 100 percent positive he’s never been hit with the shots I’d hit him with.

I just don’t think Conor understands the pressure I can put on him and the power I can put on him and all the different attacks. I think it’s good for media, but in general, man, I don’t know how I can win. If I beat him, everyone’s going to say I’m supposed to beat him and that he’s a former featherweight. And if I lose to him, we know what’s going to happen there.

If he wants to fight, we can sign it right now.”

McGregor’s response was brief.

“I’m sure he would,” said McGregor. “I’m sure he f***ing would. They all would.”

Returning to the beginning, with McGregor screaming for his belt, it turns out the UFC didn’t have an extra. So they asked Woodley if he would lend his for McGregor to proudly hoist overhead.

“Maybe that’s a sign of things to come,” said McGregor.