UFC superstar Conor McGregor may be popular with fans, but he is not the most popular with his fellow fighter community.
McGregor, who hasn’t had a professional fight since his devastating loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021, has been taking verbal jabs from veteran UFC fighter Matt “The Immortal” Brown, who joins the chorus of MMA pros who believe McGregor is “coked up.”
“With Conor, I just want the red panty night, right? That’s all I give a f**k about,” Brown said recently on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast. “He’s a nobody, to be honest, in my opinion,” Brown said. “He was amazing, I give him all the props for all that he did. At this point, he’s a bum.”
In MMA, a fight against McGregor is the equivalent of a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. for boxing — the biggest payday of your life or a night meant for celebrating a special occasion. Now that McGregor is seemingly back in competition as an opposing coach on “The Ultimate Fighter” against Michael Chandler, he has been vocal and visible for the fighters still looking to get a piece of his cachet in the Octagon.
McCoke Boy?
However, with mounting losses, Brown questioned McGregor’s relevance as a high-level fighter at this stage in his career. Many, like Brown, believe McGregor has a substance abuse problem. The Irish star has been seen drinking his Proper 12 whiskey at events and in public frequently, leading many to believe he doesn’t take fighting seriously anymore since his massive payday when he fought Mayweather in a boxing match in 2017.
“You can headline that, and it won’t be bulls**t,” Brown continued. “Conor, I think he’s lost like four or his last five. He hasn’t f***ing done nothing. Everything you see, it’s him drinking or getting coked up, or he’s juiced out of his mind. That’s fing bum life to me. All that money don’t make you not a bum. You’re still a bum to me, bro. When you step in the cage, you’re still a f*ing bum to me.”
The always-ready-fo-a-Twitter-finger-quip McGregor heard the noise and let Brown know how he felt about his assessment of his current career state.
“Matt Brown, heroin addict,” McGregor posted and deleted. Brown (29-19) has been honest his whole career about having had a heroin addiction. His nickname, “The Immortal,” came from his friends after he experienced a drug overdose and near-death experience.
Fight It Out
Last month, Brown scored a KO win over Court McGee, tying Derrick “The Beast” Lewis for most knockout wins within the UFC, at 13. The accomplishment did not sit well with McGregor, who said he would break Brown’s record since he’s younger than him.
“Matt Brown, at 42 years of age, now holds the joint highest KO’s inside the UFC with 13KO’s,” McGregor posted. “Him and “The Beast” Lewis are tied. I hold 8 KO’s inside the UFC currently, at 34 years of age. I’m getting this record.”
Brown tweeted back, “i’ll fight you for it.”
Although McGregor has never been caught with cocaine in his system, many UFC fighters believe he is a user.
Cocaine Chorus
Former UFC BMF champion Jorge Masvidal sent a shot McGregor’s way in 2022.
“I think the only thing that makes him want to get out of bed is cocaine. That’s OK; every man has a free will,” Masvidal said to MMA Fighting.
Even UFC color commentator Joe Rogan said the same after McGregor’s infamous bus rage incident in the Barclays Center, where he attempted to attack former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I wouldn’t think that’s a booze move. That seems more like a coke [cocaine] move,” Rogan said on his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
Will McGregor and Matt Brown fight and settle their differences? Brown’s coach and former fighter Dorian Price thinks it’s a long shot.
“I don’t think Conor wants the smoke and also too, when he texted you’ve got to just look at the time. Conor’s texting at prime coke hours, so he’s probably coked out so he ain’t serious,” Price said on the “PRITTY Left Hook” podcast. “He’s just putting something out there. What do they say, ‘cocaine’s a hell of a drug.’”
