Conor McGregor has been ducking Frankie Edgar for years and never REALLY wanted to fight him at UFC 222 in March ... this according to Frankie's manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
And by the way ... that's putting it mildly.
Ali just WENT OFF on Conor -- comparing him to a prostitute and guaranteeing Frankie would "Beat the sh*t out of him and the entire nation of Ireland."
It's all over Conor's new comments in which the Irish superstar claimed he offered to step in and fight Frankie at UFC 222 on March 3 but the UFC shut it down claiming there wasn't enough time to promote it properly.
Ali says if Conor was serious about fighting Frankie -- he's had PLENTY of time to come to terms on a deal over the years. Instead, Ali says, "He's scared."