Conor McGregor sends instant message to Justin Gaethje after Dustin Poirier KO

There has always been a brewing feud between McGregor and Gaethje, with the Irishman almost fighting his rival in 2019 before injury scuppered plans

Conor McGregor has declared he will “slap around” Justin Gaethje after the lightweight became the UFC’s second BMF champion with a vicious knockout win over Dustin Poirier.

The Irishman has been out of action for the last two years with a broken leg, but has committed to returning at the end of this year against Michael Chandler. However, he may have set up another fight on Twitter with his response to Gaethje after his UFC 291 win.

For years there has been an underlying and relatively unspoken feud between McGregor and Gaethje, who were due to fight in 2019 before the two-weight world champion was forced out with an hand injury. And clearly tensions have not thawed, with the Irishman taking aim at his rival again on social media in the aftermath of his pay-per-view victory.

“Justin,” McGregor wrote in a short and simple tweet to his 10million+ followers after the main event. “I’ll slap you around.” In a second message, he added: “I’m the real BMF, he can fight for pennies if he wants but I want spirits, I call the shots, I’m in it to launch shots, f*** Chandler, you want it call for it.”