Yet another elite UFC fighter is calling Conor McGregor 'irrelevant'

John Locher/AP

Conor McGregor.

• Tony Ferguson told ESPN that Conor McGregor is "irrelevant."
• The elite lightweight's comments follow others' statements that imply UFC athletes are freezing the Irish striker out from the biggest fights in the industry.
• Khabib Nurmagomedov defends his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
• Ferguson wants to fight the winner, and said McGregor should concentrate on challenging the loser.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Tony Ferguson, an elite lightweight fighter in the UFC, has called Conor McGregor "irrelevant."

The jiu-jitsu specialist's comments on ESPN follow the lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's statement that implies the Russian wrestler will freeze McGregor out of the UFC's biggest fights, alongside his opponent Dustin Poirier and the welterweight rivals Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz who plan on doing the same.

In the lightweight division, UFC has Ferguson ranked just behind Poirier and the champion Nurmagomedov, who fight at the UFC 242 event in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Ferguson told ESPN that "both these fighters will be nervous, it's in a dope-ass arena, and I'd have loved to have fought for that title there."

The well-rounded Californian is on a 12-fight win streak, and believes he will fight the winner of this weekend's Nurmagomedov vs. Poirier bout.

As for McGregor, Ferguson said he might better off fighting celebrities. "Recently he was trying to fight Mark Wahlberg, maybe that's the fight for him.

"Dude's got a couple things, he's making his money, he's doing his thing. I don't know if he wants to fight no more. He's like one of those ex-girlfriends. I stop worrying about that dude," the 35-year-old said.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Tony Ferguson.

"At first he was in line fighting for the title but once he became irrelevant, I stopped caring about the dude. He's mentioning my name? Get the f--- out of here, dude. Come on.

"If push comes to shove, I see him fighting the loser of this next fight this weekend. This is professional, the UFC, it's why we have rankings. I fight for the title, if he wins, maybe I give him a shot."

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