Conor McGregor to UFC's Justin Gaethje: 'I Am Going to F--king Butcher You'

Following his victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on Saturday, Justin Gaethje set his sights on Khabib Nurmagomedov. Conor McGregor apparently has other plans. 

Gaethje told reporters "there's no other challenge I want right now" than fighting Nurmagomedov.

The new interim lightweight champion had already gotten on McGregor's bad side in September when he called him a "s--t human, father, and husband."

McGregor used Gaethje's post-UFC 249 comments to spur a series of profanity-laced tweets Monday:

McGregor last fought in January, beating Donald Cerrone by TKO at UFC 246. It was his return to the Octagon following a lengthy hiatus. He had to serve a six-month suspension as a result of the brawl after his loss to Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018.

In responding to McGregor's comments, Gaethje's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, said he had missed his opportunity.

"He had his chance for that, and he picked Cowboy [in January]," Abdelaziz said, per ESPN's Brett Okamoto. "He picked the easier fight. The two kings of the division are going to fight in Khabib and Justin. Conor can be the co-main event."

McGregor is doing his best to stir the pot, but Gaethje vs. Nurmagomedov would make the most sense.

Khabib was unable to travel to the United States for UFC 249 because of COVID-19-related restrictions in place in Russia. He's still recognized as UFC's lightweight champion, so it stands to reason he'd get the winner of Ferguson vs. Gaethje, even if the latter is ranked lower in the division.

Given McGregor's outspoken personality, this probably isn't the last word he'll have on the matter.