"You’ll have to go through me first" - Hasbulla finds unexpected backing from Alexander Volkanovski following Conor McGregor's Twitter rant

UFC pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski jumped to Hasbulla's defense after Conor McGregor's bizarre social media rant.

The former UFC double champion recently targeted Hasbulla in one of his tirades. What started out as light-hearted fun turned ugly after McGregor called Hasbulla a "little smelly inbred." At this point, social media users accused 'The Notorious' of going too far with his comments.

McGregor's tweets have since been deleted, but screencaps of his remarks have gone viral on social media. The Dublin native wrote the following:

"I’d love to boot that little g*mp Hasbulla over a goal post."

"How much to get him on the volley?

"I’m gonna make it my mission to score a 3 pointer with him one day, hon the gaa."

"Little smelly inbred."

See Conor McGregor's tweets below:

Amidst the commotion, Hasbulla found an unlikely ally in UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski. The Australian superstar took to Twitter, telling McGregor to leave Hasbulla be:

"You’ll have to go through me first, Leave my mate alone"

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's tweet below:

Incidentally, McGregor's comments were published shortly after Volkanovski posted a video featuring Hasbulla. In it, the Russian personality was seen pranking 'The Great' by smearing a piece of hamburger on his face.

Watch the video below:

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Alexander Volkanovski comments on potential Conor McGregor fight

Conor McGregor's recent record hasn't been impressive, but Alexander Volkanovski has revealed that he's willing to give the Irishman a title shot.

During an interview with TMZ Sports, Volkanovski was asked to comment on a potential showdown against 'The Notorious'. The Aussie champion, who appears to be highly interested in the matchup, said:

"It's always going to be a big fight, there's always going to be money, there's going to be a circus, it's going to be entertaining, it's going to be fun, I'll enjoy that whole f***ing thing."

Watch Alexander Volkanovski's interview below:

McGregor, 1-3 in the UFC since 2016, is coming off back-to-back losses to rival Dustin Poirier. He is expected to make a comeback sometime in December or early 2023.

Volkanovski, on the other hand, continues to rise with 12 consecutive wins since joining UFC and 22 straight overall. He is currently the top pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion.