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Everyone has an opinion on UFC superstar Conor McGregor. From fans and compatriots to rivals and pundits, the Irishman has seen criticism and praise pour in from all corners of the MMA community.
Conor McGregor is currently recovering from the injury he sustained at UFC 264, where he lost consecutive fights for the first time in his career. Whether he will compete against Dustin Poirier for a fourth time remains to be seen, but it is certain that he will have all eyes on him when he returns to the octagon, presumably next year.
Some decorated UFC fighters haven't taken too kindly to McGregor's general attitude and post-fight comments at UFC 264. Rivals like Rafael dos Anjos and Khabib Nurmagomedov appeared to take jabs at 'The Notorious' on Twitter, while others, including UFC president Dana White, were much more aggressive in their assessment.
Here are three UFC legends who have criticized Conor McGregor since UFC 264.
#3 Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz moonlights as an analyst and color commentator for the promotion, and he was on air during UFC 264. 'The Dominator', in the aftermath of the pay-per-view main event, had some choice words for Conor McGregor.
"After multiple losses like that, you tend to sit on your hands and shut up. We’re not seeing that. We’re not seeing the silence. We’re not seeing the humility. We’re not seeing the vulnerability that he put on place to put himself in a position where you may or may not win," Cruz said.
"You’re not exercising the vulnerability that, yeah, you just showed that you lost. This is the game. There’s a position where you get smashed sometimes, and you have to accept that as a fighter. That is part of why we do martial arts, is to accept the losses and the wins and grow from them. When you don’t accept these losses, how do you grow? How do you fill the gap?" he added.
Cruz wasn't the only one to take aim at Conor McGregor for his post-fight antics, with several fans of the opinion that the Irishman shouldn't have involved Poirier's family in his comments.
Interestingly, even Cruz came under fire for his criticism of McGregor, since he didn't take his defeat to Henry Cejudo in May 2020 too well. The 36-year-old was accused of having double standards.
#2 Former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier
In a strange online disagreement a while ago, Conor McGregor instigated beef against Daniel Cormier in a series of now-deleted tweets. 'The Notorious' hit out at Cormier's "weight" and "way of life", bringing up instances from DC's commentary stints to back up his point.
In hindsight, Conor McGregor going after Cormier shouldn't have been unexpected. DC hails from the same town as Dustin Poirier and is close friends with his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov. But the suddenness of the dispute took many by surprise.
Cormier didn't back down from the war and spoke about McGregor's indifferent recent record in the UFC.
"So McGregor, listen to me bud. Stop worrying about me. Don’t worry about Daniel Cormier. Don’t worry about the things that I’m saying. Don’t worry about how I’m dressing and how I’m looking. Don’t do that. Worry about the dudes that keep beating your ass every time you go into the octagon," Cormier stated.
"I’m not the guy you’ve got to worry about fighting,” Cormier continued. “I’m done. I’m retired. I’m living my best life. You need to worry about trying to beat the guys that you fight against. Get off the internet. I don’t hate this dude, but McGregor, fall back," he added.
Cormier clearly believes McGregor should let his performances in the octagon do the talking, which is something the Irishman hasn't done often over the last few years.
#1 Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping
In a feud that was born from Conor McGregor's verbal war with Daniel Cormier, Michael Bisping joined in on the action by claiming that 'The Notorious' should be more judicious with his words.
“Careful what you wish for. Careful who you’re picking fights with — because I’m not disrespecting Conor McGregor — but I don’t care what Conor McGregor it is, whether it’s double-champ Conor McGregor… DC is gonna f—ng pull you limb from limb," said Bisping.
Conor McGregor responded by calling Bisping a "nobody", with both former UFC champions trading blows on Twitter. 'The Count' hit out at McGregor for spoiling his legacy and even expressed dismay at the Irishman's now-deleted tweet about Khabib Nurmagomedov's late father.
"It's below the line. DC talked about it this week, he said he called Khabib straight away. And I say it all the time, you can talk about whatever you want. You can talk about the fighter, whatever you want to say. But family needs to be off limits. Certainly when they've passed away. But that's not a hot take. I think the entire world in condemning him for that one," Bisping opined.
