UFC legend Daniel Cormier believes Conor McGregor is "not the guy he was" as he continues his preparations for a return to the octagon.
The pair are two of just four two-weight world champions in the promotion's history, and have had a strained relationship over the years due to Cormier's close friendship with Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Irishman has slammed Cormier as a "fat mess" and questioned his professionalism as a commentator.
And Cormier has claimed McGregor is no longer the fighter he once was back when he claimed belts in two divisions. The Dubliner only lost once on his astronomical run to featherweight and lightweight gold; a short notice bout with Nate Diaz when he jumped up two weight classes, but has struggled to remain consistent since.
The American was forced to defend the Irishman during an episode of The Pivot podcast when host Channing Crowder made the outlandish claim the McGregor was "not good at fighting". And he believes that it was moving into boxing in 2017 for a super-fight with Floyd Mayweather that cost his fellow double champion, who has gone 1-3 in the octagon since.
"He's pretty good at fighting, Channing," Cormier told the host after his baffling proclamation. "He was the double champion, I think he's a good fighter, there's four of us [double champions]; me, Conor, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo.
"Conor's good, but now he's not the guy that he was a couple of years ago. He's been struggling, was him stepping out [into boxing in 2017] massive? Yeah. Do you remember those press conferences? It was an absolute circus the entire time and more people paid attention to what Conor McGregor does outside of his time with Floyd.
"Dana [White, UFC president] was very smart because he made sure he was at every single one; when you see Conor you see the UFC. And Conor made $100million, that's crazy - I'm pretty sure that the UFC got some of that money too!"
Do you agree with Daniel Cormier's take on Conor McGregor? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
After losing to Mayweather in their huge crossover event, McGregor returned to action over a year later in an effort to reclaim his vacated lightweight belt. In the meantime, Nurmagomedov had been crowned the champion and a heated feud had built between the pair.
It all boiled over on fight night when the Russian submitted McGregor in the fourth round and jumped out of the cage after his cornerman Dillon Danis. Cormier was on hand to assist Nurmagomedov, but luckily it didn't get too out of hand.
McGregor was then injured as he prepared for a 2019 return against Justin Gaethje, and was forced out until the start of 2020 when he knocked out Donald Cerrone within a minute. The coronavirus pandemic cost him another year, before he faced Dustin Poirier twice last year and lost both, the second of which saw him break his leg in gruesome fashion.
