Conor McGregor has issued an expletive-laden response after being accused of 'juicing up' by a fellow UFC fighter.
The Irishman is yet to return to action since he suffered a broken leg in his defeat to Dustin Poirier in July last year, although he has hinted he will be back in 2023.
He has been seen sporting a bulkier figure in recent times and has suggested he is weighing in close to 190lb.
Anthony Smith has doubted McGregor's recovery though, and compared it to other fighters who suffered the same injury, including Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva, who have had issues in their attempts to return.
Smith claimed: "Anybody who’s broken their leg has taken a long time. He’s seemingly pretty healed up. It just bugs me that he gets to jump out of the pool, juice up on whatever he’s juiced on, and then just jump back in the pool and no one’s going to say s*** about it?"
The allegation was met with a fierce response from McGregor, who unleashed an angry tirade at the light heavyweight fighter on social media.
McGregor wrote: "This rat spoke to Weidman who’d the same horrific injury and is having severe complications still, is bothered that I was able to heal/return to a normal way of life. He, like many other rats in my game, would be happier if I wasn’t able to play with my children the same again.
"The audacity of this loser! @lionheartsmith you’re a loser. The % of the bones joining back after a break like this is so low. You think I give a f**** about anything else. I am the most tested fighter all time in combat sport. I give everything to this game. You - Nothing!
"I thought you broke your leg yourself in your last fight lol you little dope. You embarrassment of a man! Keep my name out of your f****** mouth. P****."
McGregor will have to undergo six months of drug testing before he is able to return to UFC, with fighters required to enroll in the USADA programme.
He continued: "Everything was fully disclosed before I began. The state of allowance for athletes to recover from injuries as horrific as the one I overcame must be assessed. My thoughts are with Weidman and Anderson Silva. The three of us, and only us, know the severity of this injury.”
"I crushed the metatarsal bones in my foot 3 weeks before the Khabib fight, and still made the walk. All injuries are not the same. You will see it all on Netflix. When a serious injury with a high % of never recovering occurs, it is just simply not the same."
There are a number of potential fights on the table when McGregor returns, with his plan to instead return at 170lb in order to search for redemption.
