Conor McGregor remained silent for the majority of UFC 286 and only broke off his social media strike to congratulate a fighter on his victory.
‘Notorious’ spoke ahead of the latest UFC pay-per-view on the possibility of fighting Leon Edwards’ winner against Kamaru Usman 3.
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McGregor targets UFC welterweight title
The Irishman also has a long-running feud with Justin Gaethje who edged out Rafael Fiziev in a bloody three-round battle at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.
However, McGregor wasn’t interested in trash talk from Edwards or Gaethje and instead focused on praising Gunnar Nelson after his impressive win over Bryan Barberena on the UFC 286 main card.
He tweeted: “Congratulations Gunnar Nelson! One of the greatest fighters I have ever known personally. What a fighter is the Icelander!
The former two-weight champion trained with Nelson at John Kavanagh’s famous SBG gym and in Iceland where he hilariously faced off against ‘The Mountain’ from Game of Thrones.
McGregor is currently preparing to fight for the first time since fracturing his tibia and fibula at UFC 264 in July 2021.
The 34-year-old is set to face Michael Chandler later this year, but it’s unclear when, where and at what weight they will fight.
Gunnar Nelson – Twitter
The Icelandic fighter has been friends with McGregor for years
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Nelson impressed at UFC 286
At the moment, it looks like McGregor’s highly anticipated UFC comeback fight could be delayed by United States Anti-Doping [USADA] who want him to undergo six months of random doping tests before competition.
‘Mystic Mac’ made his feelings about USADA clear on social media earlier this week and even sang a song about the drug testing agency first tasked with cleaning up the UFC in 2015.
Whatever happens with all of this, Nelson is confident that his longtime friend will easily take care of Chandler – as long as he’s healthy and fit.
He told The Mac Life before UFC 286: “If Conor trains properly and is in good shape, he’s going to screw it up.”
With his submission win over Barberena, Nelson moves one step closer to the title that was impressively defended by Edwards in the main event of UFC 286.
Dana White has confirmed that Colby Covington will be next in line for a 170-pound strap shot and that McGregor will likely be after him if all goes well in his first fight in two years.
Nelson is not yet ranked in the division and still needs at least a few more wins before he becomes a potential threat to his teammate’s run to welterweight gold.
