Conor McGregor has insisted he meant no disrespect to fellow UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev when he offered a critique of his kick-boxing defence.
Fiziev is one of the hottest prospects in the UFC, rocketing into one of the promotion's most stacked top 10s within six fights. He comes from a striking background which includes Muay Thai and Thai boxing, with McGregor responding to a compilation of footage from his fights both in and out of the UFC.
The Irishman suggested a different attack for his brand of defence, which had been likened to the film The Matrix . McGregor believed that his leaning back defence could be taken care of by the attacker deciding to change their attack from a roundhouse kick to an axe kick.
"This is awesome," McGregor said in his initial tweet. "Change the roundhouse to an axe kick. Roundhouse into and axe kick and this defense eats the full of the heel. I’m telling you. If their reaction to a high kick is this, implement the axe.
Fiziev hit back by inviting McGregor to the famous Tiger Muay Thai gym in Phuket. There, he claimed he would prove that the offensive possibility was not what the Irishman had made out. in his tweet. He replied: "Conor, I invite you to Tiger Muay Thai where we can show you how to kick and defend the kicks properly so you can stop living in fantasy world where you think it’s possible to land an axe kick in this situation."
McGregor came back with an uncharacteristically polite response, insisting that he meant no disrespect towards the fighter, who is currently on a five-fight win streak. But he couldn't resist a little jab in his second reply tweet, declaring that Fiziev still has yet to have great accomplishments in the sport.
"I’m not disrespecting," he said. "I’m telling you, I’ve faced this defence habit a lot in my time where I knew every high kick I threw was being pulled back from and hitting air. I then began changing to an axe kick and came down on top with great success. That or the running roundhouse.
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"Thank you for the offer. When I am in Thailand I will head here for sure! Don’t disrespect you are yet to do anything significant in this sport. Good luck in your upcoming fight." He later added: "Sir, all due respect. I didn’t do all I have done in this business by living in “fantasy world”. I done it through in depth personal study. Dissecting movement patterns and habits and capitalising off of them with devastating results. Have respect, I have not disrespected you."
Fiziev is set to face McGregor's old rival Rafael Dos Anjos this weekend at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He is a relatively strong 2/1 favourite to beat Dos Anjos, who is a former lightweight champion.
The Irishman's initial attempt at becoming a double champion in the UFC was supposed to be against Dos Anjos in March 2016. But the Brazilian pulled out with a broken foot, and he instead faced Nate Diaz, which pushed his progress towards UFC history back for a further eight months.
