Kamaru Usman responds to Conor McGregor’s verbal attacks during recent Q+A: ‘Put down the whiskey!”

Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman didn’t hold back in his response to Conor McGregor’s scathing remarks about him during a recent livestream.

McGregor is scheduled to return to the UFC Octagon to face Michael Chandler in the UFC 303 main event. His comeback fight comes three years after shattering his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

In the pre-fight buildup to his return, McGregor hosted a question-and-answer livestream in collaboration with DuelBits. During the stream, he attacked the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman, and other top UFC names.

McGregor aimed at Usman, calling him a ‘bum’ in a set of hostile comments. Just hours after McGregor’s rant against Usman and other top fighters, Usman has responded.

Kamaru Usman to Conor McGregor: ‘Be a good father’

During a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman exploded on McGregor for his recent jabs at him.

“It’s more than just money, at what point does this become more than money? At what point does this become the integrity of the sport?” Usman answered McGregor. “At the end of the day, Conor is who Conor is. Conor’s done some pretty fantastic things in this sport of mixed martial arts, for the UFC, he has. But Conor, so have I! You were a champion, and so was I! So at the end of the day…where I have a little issue is where you say ‘Oh, he’s a bum!’, you can’t say that, Conor. I didn’t kick him while he was down. He’s had run-ins with the law, back-to-back incidents, and situations, but you never heard me sit there and kick the man while he was down…

“There needs to be some level of respect here, because, at the end of the day, that’s what this sport is all about,” Usman continued. “The respect and discipline that we all put in to get to the top of the sport, and that seems to be something that he’s lacking…I’m not a bum because if you wanted an opportunity to fight me, I gave Conor two opportunities to fight me. Two opportunities while I was champion…but you didn’t. So to call me a bum is kind of disrespectful, and I didn’t disrespect me while you were having your troubles. My man, I think it’s better to put that whiskey bottle down and actually come back to your wits, and be a good father and a good role model.”

Usman and McGregor could potentially be on a collision course, depending on how UFC 303 plays out. McGregor has targeted a potential welterweight title run to challenge Leon Edwards and the other top 170-pounders.

Usman hasn’t fought since a loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October. It’s uncertain when the former welterweight titleholder will return, as is if he’ll return at middleweight or welterweight.

McGregor has ruffled Usman’s feathers, and a matchup between the two UFC stars could be on the horizon.