Conor McGregor claps back (softly) after Chael Sonnen calls him a ‘little rich weirdo’

Gods recognize gods, and trolls recognize trolls. That may be the reason Conor McGregor resisted the temptation to fire back at Chael Sonnen over recent comments on Chael’s ESPN show.

“Conor is on the verge of being a little rich weirdo,” Sonnen said (via MMA Fighting). “It’s the last thing I wanted for him but if you mark out for your own gimmick to this extent, he’s posting things and then he’s deleting them — I’ve got to give the troll effort 100 percent. As a former troll myself, I get it. If there’s a UFC that you didn’t set foot at and you didn’t throw a single punch and you can steal a headline on ESPN, you’re doing something well.”

“But, in all fairness, Conor isn’t gonna step in there with Max anymore than he was gonna step in there with the guy last week, the week before that, or whoever he pulls out of his hat next week. He’s got to heal himself ... Conor is still a big draw but he’s really working against himself. He is being a weirdo. Is this what he wants as his identity? A guy walking around with his shirt off, screaming at his television set? Come on.”

“When you’re 22 years old that’s one thing, but as a husband and a father, you’re a little bit of a dork.”

That elicited a response from McGregor, but nothing like the full-blown flip outs he’s uncorked with Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping.

It seems like McGregor has finally learned that mixed martial arts (MMA) personalities like it when he responds to their trash talk. And as the old saying goes, never wrestle with a pig – it gets mud all over you ... and the pig likes it.

Before McGregor came along, UFC President Dana White dubbed Chael Sonnen the best at pushing fighter buttons and pissing them off. We have no doubt the star-crossed Irishman remembers this era. Hell, the guy practically copied Sonnen’s schtick when he went to Brazil and antagonized Jose Aldo. So for once he realizes he’s getting baited, and refuses to bite.

Well, maybe just a nibble.