It didn’t take long for UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor to take a dig at Max Holloway for withdrawing from UFC 222.
Holloway, the reigning featherweight champ, was scheduled to defend his title against top contender Frankie Edgar in the main event but was forced to pull out due to a leg injury.
McGregor, who beat a 21-year-old Holloway via unanimous decision in 2013, posted a mocking picture of their UFC Fight Night featherweight bout on Instagram.
Holloway, 26, immediately fired back with a picture of his own, mocking McGregor’s stoppage loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his 2017 pro boxing debut.
Holloway, who recently beat former 145-pound kingpin Jose Aldo in back-to-back fights, joked that he was willing to have his leg amputated to save UFC 222 but urged fans to still watch the event to support MMA.
McGregor, 29, hasn’t fought since his loss to Mayweather but is expected to return to the Octagon some time this year. The UFC 223 main event between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov has been billed as a ‘world lightweight championship’ bout, although McGregor, the current champ, hasn’t been stripped of the belt.
Holloway recently teased of a move up to the lightweight division due to UFC weight-cutting procedures, so don’t be surprised to see a rematch between ‘Blessed’ and Notorious’ in the future.