Kamaru Usman Says Conor McGregor 'Must Want to Die' After Fight Challenge

Kamaru Usman has said Conor McGregor "must want to die" after the Irishman appeared to call out the UFC welterweight champion following his victory over Colby Covington.

The Nigerian-American fighter stopped Covington in the fifth round of their headline bout at UFC 245 on Saturday:

It was his 12 consecutive UFC victory and first successful title defence since he claimed the welterweight belt against Tyron Woodley in March.

In the aftermath, McGregor sent a tweet that seemed to indicate he'd like a shot at adding the 170-pound title to the featherweight (145 pounds) and lightweight (155 pounds) belts he has won in the past:

In response, Usman, 32, was dismissive of the 31-year-old's apparent aspiration, per TMZ (h/t Marc Raimondi of ESPN):

"He must want to die. This is not '45, '55. You saw what Khabib [Nurmagomedov] did to him. Oh my God. It wouldn't be fair if I fought Conor. Much respect to Conor for what he's done for the sport and transcended it. But nah. This ain't what you want. Just sit down, little man. Sit down. Learn to walk before you can run. Because I would hurt that guy."

McGregor has fought and won at welterweight before.

In 2016, he lost to Nate Diaz in his welterweight debut at UFC 202 before beating the American in the rematch at UFC 205. 

The Dublin-born fighter is moving up to 170 pounds again for his return to the Octagon when he faces Donald Cerrone on Saturday, January 18, at UFC 246 in Las Vegas.

It will be McGregor's first appearance in UFC since he was beaten by Nurmagomedov in October 2018 at UFC 229.

That appearance was his first outing since November 2016, when he beat Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt, and in the interim, he lost a boxing match to Floyd Mayweather.

The fight with Cerrone is huge for McGregor, who has now lost two of his last four fights in MMA after a run of 15 bouts unbeaten.