Fabricio Werdum explains why he called Conor McGregor a prostitute

Not a hint of regret or remorse.

Fabricio Werdum's verbal feud with Conor McGregor began back in late November 2015, when the UFC heavyweight champion told reporters the Dubliner was refused his request to train at Kings MMA. All harmless enough until McGregor called Werdum out for telling lies. Matters escalated quickly. The peak of their aggro came when McGregor called him out at the MMA Awards and labelled him a p*ssy. The Brazilian responded with this charmless Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/BBgkTxzJJaI/ As part of the build-up for UFC 198, in Curitiba, Werdum was asked about his spat with McGregor, and why he called The Notorious a "prostitute". He told reporters:

"Conor McGregor started well with his marketing, he talks a lot and is a great fighter, we can’t deny that, but I think he crossed the line. It’s too much now. "He said he will fight anyone, but that’s not how things work in our world. Fighters have a code, a law, and you have to respect everybody. "He lost this respect, talked about me at the MMA Awards, and he talked sh*t at the wrong person. I won’t stay quiet and just listen."

Werdum was not finished there. He went on to claim that the Dubliner does not command the respect of the wider MMA community. He continued:

"Fighters don’t like Conor McGregor. "Everybody likes watching him fight because he does a good marketing, but I won’t change who I am because of money. Everybody likes money, but there’s a limit. Money isn’t everything. "He sold his soul - and I’m saying soul so I don’t say other things. I don’t think that’s cool. He sold his soul. It was about time someone would shut him up."

Werdum has no regrets over the crude Instagram and said he would happily do it again. He also threatened to take a run at McGregor if they ever shared a press conference stage again and talk turned thrashy.

"You can’t let him be that cocky. You have to be crazier than him sometimes so he stops. I posted a photo putting my hand in his a** to show that he’s a prostitute. He does anything for money. Money is important, of course, but that’s not everything in your life. That’s what I was trying to say. "Nate Diaz showed him that. He talked a lot, moved up in weight and saw how heavy Nate Diaz’s hands are. When he needed to show up and fight, he lost. He was humbled. And Nate showed the way to beat him. He becomes a child on the ground."

Four months since it began, McGregor's beef with Werdum is still sizzling away. *Featured image via Dee Devlin [Instagram]