Conor McGregor took to social media to respond to Terence Crawford, who mocked former UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria. This came shortly after the conclusion of UFC Freedom 250, hosted at the White House. The main event of this card was Ilia Topuria defending his lightweight belt against Justin Gaethje. The Spaniard entered the fight with an aura of invincibility after running through some of the best UFC fighters in the world, including Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira and Alexander Volkanovski in his previous fights. But it was not Topuria's night as he was forced to retire on his stool by a ferocious Gaethje, who did some serious damage to the champion's face and body, meaning he could not physically fight on. It will go down as a big upset, but Gaethje is a stalwart of the UFC and is a veteran of brutal contests like this. Terence Crawford | IMAGO / ZUMA Press WireCrawford mocks Topuria after lossAfter the fight, Crawford, who has recently retired from boxing after beating Canelo Alvarez and becoming the undisputed super middleweight champion, was quick to give his thoughts on the result. "This the guy that said he would knock me out and whoop me and Shakur [Stevenson} at the same time?" Crawford mocked on social media.They shared a back-and-forth last year before Crawford fought Alvarez, with the UFC star claiming he would have no problem knocking out the American in a boxing fight. He also, earlier this year, went on a similar attack, this time it was Shakur Stevenson in his sights. McGregor responds to CrawfordConor McGregor | IMAGO / ZUMA Press WireIn an unusual show of support for any potential rivals in the UFC, McGregor stepped in to defend the former champion and call Crawford too scared to fight in MMA despite having a good background in wrestling."What the f--- are you saying? You can wrestle yet you are afraid of an mma fight," McGregor retorted. "That to me is pitiful. The kid was beaten in an mma fight, of which you don’t have the courage for. What the fuck was with all these little boxers at this show yet no MMA fighters?"What the fuck are you saying? You can wrestle yet you are afraid of an mma fight. That to me is pitiful. The kid was beaten in an mma fight, of which you don’t have the courage for.What the fuck was with all these little boxers at this show yet no MMA fighters?… https://t.co/cqmO1NHrs6— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 15, 2026This fierce rivalry between MMA fighters and boxers is something we have seen grow in magnitude in the last 10 years, as the incidence of MMA fighters venturing over to boxing to collect larger pay checks has increased. McGregor is one such example and perhaps the biggest as well, as he fought Floyd Mayweather in 2017, a fight which has become one of the biggest boxing fights in history. We have since seen the likes of Francis Ngannou fight Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, or more recently, Rico Verhoeven, a kickboxing legend, take on Oleksandr Usyk in Egypt. None of these were successful attempts. Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor | IMAGO / ZUMA Press WireCrawford calls McGregor a 'drunk'Crawford came back at McGregor with an argument along those lines - that he doesn't need to risk venturing into MMA when they all want to come to boxing. "Shut yo drunk as up and get ready for yo fight," Crawford said. "He got his ass whoop like you did running yo mouth. I don’t have to come and fight in the cage. That’s the joy of boxing yall come to us we don’t have to come to yall"McGregor does have a fight to prepare for - his first in five years. The 'Notorious' will return to the octagon in July when he will face former rival Max Holloway in Las Vegas. McGregor beat Holloway by unanimous decision in 2013, but he has had an extended lay-off, including injuries and legal trouble. Holloway has been active and fighting at the highest level, so he will likely be the favorite. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow