The man who manages Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov has a warning to Conor McGregor -- you won't get a title shot until you fight a top-tier opponent like Tony Ferguson.
Ali Abdelaziz -- who also reps champs like Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo -- says he's sick and tired of Conor always trying to strong-arm himself into title fights that he doesn't deserve.
"Right now, he's on punishment for his bad behavior," Ali tells TMZ Sports ... "Right now, he needs to sit down."
"Go fight Tony Ferguson, stay busy, stay active. Go fight Jorge Masvidal. Stay active, I want to see activity. Remember, he used to say that to all of us, guess what? Payback is a bitch."
Obviously, Ali doesn't believe Conor's recent retirement announcement will stick -- he thinks it's just another attention grab.
"Same old prostitute, he wants attention."
Ali says he's unsure if either Khabib or Justin would even give Conor a shot -- but an impressive performance against a guy like Tony Ferguson or Jorge Masvidal would help his case.
Ali also talked about the upcoming UFC 251 main event between his two clients Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns -- and how they won't let their friendship stand in the way of a ferocious brawl on Fight Island.
"Best two fighters in the division that's gonna fight. Buy the Pay-per-view and you're gonna find out."
"I got no prediction, you know where I'm gonna stand. I'm not picking sides here. I love both those guys equally. Kamaru's my brother, I love Gilbert. I want them to fight each other, give each other a hug, both of them will be healthy and that's it. That's all I want."