Conor McGregor has taken a swipe at old foe Khabib Nurmagomedov, accusing him of "chickening out" of his lightweight title showdown with Tony Ferguson.

For the fifth time, a mouth-watering bout between Khabib and Ferguson was cancelled with the former stating he was unable to travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ferguson responded with a foul-mouthed tirade against both Khabib and McGregor, who said the two were always involved in a game of chicken ahead of the proposed UFC 249 bout in Brooklyn.

McGregor feels Ferguson won the game of wits against Khabib and insists he is himself in fighting shape.

"I am in shape to fight right now!" McGregor posted on Twitter. 

"At the beginning of all this, I said to myself – I'm happy I don't have an official fight booked. 

"If I did, I would have consumed all the incorrect data to support me taking part in the bout, and I would have followed through, competed. And won.

"The fact of this matter is, both Tony and Khabib where [sic] engaged in a game of chicken here towards the fight bell. 

"With Khabib chickening out first. Making it 3-2 in pullouts in Tony's favour. Khab scurried out of the U.S. to home, and amid the crisis. Very high risk.

"Congrats Tony."

Khabib made McGregor submit in the main event of UFC 229 in October 2018, with the two camps involved in an ugly post-fight brawl.