Conor McGregor hails the UFC 286 winner as ‘one of the best ever’ and it’s not Leon Edwards

Conor McGregor remained silent for most of UFC 286, only breaking his social media strike to congratulate a fighter on his win.

“Notorious” has been vocal about the possible fight against the winner of Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman 3 ahead of the UFC’s latest pay-per-view show.

The Irishman also has a long-running feud with Justin Gaethje, who ousted Rafael Fiziev in a bloody three-round clash at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.

However, McGregor wasn’t interested in talking about Edwards or Gaethje, instead focusing on praising Gunnar Nelson after his impressive win over Bryan Barberena on the UFC 286 main card.

He tweeted: “Congratulations Gunnar Nelson! One of the greatest fighters I have ever personally known. What a fighter the Icelander is!”

The former doubleweight champion trained with Nelson at John Kavanagh’s famous SBG gym and in Iceland, where he hilariously faced off against Game of Thrones’ “The Mountain.”

McGregor is currently preparing for his first fight since breaking his tibia and fibula at UFC 264 in July 2021.

The 34-year-old will face Michael Chandler later this year but it’s currently unclear when, where and at what weight they will fight.

For now, it looks like McGregor’s much-anticipated UFC comeback fight could be delayed by the United States Anti-Doping Agency [USADA] who want him to undergo six months of random drug testing before running.

“Mystic Mac” made his feelings toward USADA clear on social media earlier this week, even singing a song about the drug testing agency that was first tasked with cleaning up the UFC in 2015.

Whatever happens with all of this, Nelson is confident that his longtime friend Chandler will easily handle it — as long as he is fully fit and healthy.

He told The Mac Life ahead of UFC 286, “If Conor is properly trained and in shape, he’s going to give him hell.”

Nelson’s clean submission victory over Barberena takes Nelson one step closer to the title that Edwards impressively defended in the UFC 286 main event.

Colby Covington appears to be next in line to fire for the 170-pound strap and McGregor will likely be after him if all goes well in his first fight in two years.

Not yet ranked in the division, Nelson needs at least a few more wins before he poses a potential threat to his teammate’s run for welterweight gold.