UFC featherweight contender Jeremy Stephens has taken a shot at champion Conor McGregor ahead of UFC 205 on November 12, saying he'll fight the Notorious any day and labeling him a “ginger crackhead.”
As shared by Fox Sports, the 30-year-old claimed McGregor avoided him backstage after the press conference and said the Notorious is a fictional character. He then plugged his upcoming fight against Frankie Edgar on the main card of the Notorious' meeting with lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez:
A fired up @LiLHeathenMMA says he confronted @TheNotoriousMMA backstage after the #UFC205 presser and 'he wanted no part of it.' @PROcast pic.twitter.com/mQ5LdKX562
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) September 28, 2016
Stephens, who has won two of his last three fights and is currently the UFC's seventh-ranked featherweight contender, took shots at the current champion during Tuesday's press conference announcing the UFC 205 lineup.
As shared by Bleacher Report UK, he and McGregor produced one of the highlights of the event, although Stephens was mostly on the receiving end (Warning: NSFW language):
Just Conor being Conor ?? (?? @ufc) #conormcgregor #mma #ufc #ufc205 @thenotoriousmma
Een video die is geplaatst door Bleacher Report UK (@bleacherreportuk) op
He and the rest of the featherweight division have been waiting for their chance to take the belt from McGregor, who hasn't fought within the division since his knockout win over former champion Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in December 2015.
The Notorious moved up in weight in an attempt to become the first UFC fighter to hold title belts in two weight classes and has fought Nate Diaz twice, winning his most recent bout at UFC 202. He'll finally get his shot at the lightweight title against Alvarez, who will make his first defence after his win over Rafael Dos Anjos.
For Stephens, the bout with the second-ranked Edgar is a golden opportunity to make a name for himself, and one he tried to grasp with both hands on Tuesday. It didn't work out as he would have hoped, however, per Jeremy Botter of FloSports:
What song do you think Jeremy Stephens is blasting right now as he clutches his pillow and softly cries
— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) September 28, 2016
SevereMMA's Sean Sheehan had similar ideas:
GIF of Jeremy Stephens after McGregor attacked him pic.twitter.com/F5pOfwUZKk
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) September 27, 2016
Lil' Heathen has gotten plenty of opportunities against some of the top names in the lightweight and featherweight divisions over the years, but since his win over Dos Anjos at UFC 91 in 2008, he has consistently failed to deliver.
Back-to-back losses against Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone, and another defeat to Yves Edwards ended his run in the lightweight division, and if he wants to have a shot at the featherweight crown, he needs to take a big scalp.
Edgar was on a fantastic run until his unanimous-decision loss against Jose Aldo at UFC 200, and he'll be anxious to put himself back into title contention.
Stephens isn't the first fighter to find himself on the receiving end of one of McGregor's one-liners, and at the very least, he has put his name on the Notorious' radar. If he can shock Edgar at UFC 205, a lucrative bout with McGregor may be in the cards at some point in the future.
