Conor McGregor has been told he "manipulated" his way to UFC world titles by fellow ex-double champion Henry Cejudo.
McGregor, a former lightweight and featherweight world champion, won the 145lb title by defeating Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds in 2015, and within a year had taken Eddie Alvarez's 155lb strap. But he never defended either title and since leaving MMA to take on Floyd Mayweather in a massive crossover boxing match, he has gone 1-3 in the octagon.
And Cejudo, who himself was champion at flyweight and bantamweight before retiring in 2020 after a dispute with the UFC, believes McGregor he was never at the elite level. He argues the Irishman managed to get himself into place to win belts, but has lost the "juice" that earned him the nickname "Mystic Mac" for his eerily accurate fight predictions.
" Conor McGregor at that time in 2016, he did walk the talk," Cejudo said during his podcast with The Schmo in response to an old tweet of his where he praised the Irishman's ability to bring his predictions to life. "Everything that he was saying, it was happening. But guess what man, his persona's over. He is not that dude no more.
"Like people know that it's just an act, he doesn't have that juice no more. So to me captain, he's just a dude that at one point was able to manipulate himself to world titles and people bought into it, he was able to use his hands. But once people realised that the front leg is there and started chewing that thing up, I believe he's good in certain areas but he's so stubborn and he's around yes men. He'll never get better because he's stuck in his own head."
And Cejudo argued that the next move for McGregor should be a fight with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, with whom he has shared a relatively one-sided feud over the past few years. McGregor rarely replies to Paul's jibes, but did recently, calling the social media star a "jacka**" in a Twitter video.
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"I think he should fight Jake Paul next," Cejudo added. "These two dudes are meant for each other, they could go on a damn honeymoon afterwards if they want to. But the both of them absolutely make me sick!"
Cejudo and McGregor have been going back-and-forth on social media over recent weeks, with McGregor joking that the former Olympic gold medalist is a "little fart". The American hit back at McGregor's comment by jokingly replying "I don’t mind being a fart. Farts have Gas. You always run out."
They have both indicated an interest in making returns to the octagon this year, but are angling for world title shots despite not winning since the early part of 2020. Cejudo believes he should get a shot at a third belt against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovksi, while McGregor wants a shot at the winner of Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje's lightweight title clash in May.
