When death threats from Conor McGregor made Tom Aspinall eat his words: "I'm going to back off"
Irish MMA legend Conor McGregor and England's Tom Aspinall found themselves in a rather unexpected feud last year. Apparently, the rivalry could be traced back to Aspinall's interview with Jamal Niaz in early 2023.
In regard to the McGregor-Michael Chandler matchup, Aspinall asserted that he was "over the McGregor" and was more hyped about other fights in 2023. He suggested that he'll still watch the McGregor-Chandler fight but "won't be upset" if it gets canceled.
Check out Aspinall's comments below (13:30-14:40):
In the wake of Tom Aspinall's aforementioned interview, Conor McGregor seemingly threatened to take Aspinall's life by starving him. 'The Notorious' insinuated that he could deprive him of a lucrative deal as punishment. McGregor's tweets read as follows:
"B*m pr*ck. Say sayonara to that gk deal kid. Starve you and kill you I will you f*cking disrespectful pr*ck. Don't ever speak my name in disrespect again. Mush potato head."
"@AspinallMMA mush head rat keep your comments to yourself."
Check out the screenshots of McGregor's tweets below:
![Screenshots of McGregor's tweets [Image courtesy: @TheNotoriousMMA on X]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/07/359a2-17220062138694-1920.jpg?w=500)
Speaking to Sky Sports, Tom Aspinall was later asked about Conor McGregor's threatening remarks. Aspinall responded by stating:
"Listen, Conor told me not to speak about him anymore. So, I'm going to respect that. I don't want -- he's a scary guy ... He's giving out threats, so I'm going to back off. I ain't going to talk about it no more if that's the case."
Aspinall clarified that he'd just said that he's more interested in other matchups like the Jon Jones-Ciryl Gane heavyweight title showdown. He explained that McGregor's reaction was a tad surprising, adding that he'd never disrespect anyone, especially a "massive pioneer" of MMA like McGregor:
"There's no history. I've never talked to him before. We don't have any mutual friends or nothing like that."
Aspinall pointed out that he'd done the interview for his friend, Jamal Niaz, and was surprised that McGregor came across the interview and then responded in that fashion. He emphasized that if he'd come across as disrespectful to McGregor, it was "unintentional."
Watch Aspinall discuss the topic below (4:29-6:26):
A closer look at the Conor McGregor vs. Tom Aspinall feud in 2024
Earlier this year (2024), Conor McGregor tweeted and deleted a jibe at Tom Aspinall, labeling the latter as "Mr Potato Head." Aspinall subsequently spoke to All Out Fighting and lightheartedly replied by asserting that he does indeed look like the Disney animated character, 'Mr. Potato Head.' He even noted that McGregor has the edge in his expected fight against Michael Chandler. Aspinall said:
"I mean, he's not wrong. I do look a bit like Mr. Potato Head. I think that's pretty hilarious. He's not wrong."
Watch Aspinall address the topic below (9:56):
Conor McGregor's toe injury ruled him out of his welterweight bout against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 (June 2024). That said, McGregor recently signaled that his three-year MMA hiatus could finally end in Dec. 2024. Meanwhile, Aspinall, who defends his interim UFC heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 (July 27, 2024), advised Chandler to move on to other fights.
In a stream with Duelbits in May 2024, Conor McGregor addressed the narrative that UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was evading interim champion Tom Aspinall. McGregor disapproved of it, adding that the Jones-Miocic and Aspinall-Blaydes fights were good matchmaking.
The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion referred to Aspinall as "the English lad" and opined that there's still a way for him to go before he becomes the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Check out McGregor's comments about Aspinall below: