UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman didn't hold back when recently talking about how he views former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor's current standing in the sport.
Usman recently appeared on the ESPN show Ahora o Nunca and spoke with host Mauricio Pedroza on how he feels about the Irish MMA superstar, believing he's become really nothing more than a talking head at this point.
“He’s a loudmouth,” Usman said (h/t MMAFighting). “He’s a guy that can compete but he’s not the champion, Conor McGregor. He’s not the double champion. He’s not that guy anymore. He’s just a guy that’s in the UFC. If he wasn’t Conor, hasn’t done the things that he’s done, he would just be a regular fight. The level of respect he gets now, he’s just a regular fighter with a lot of money and a lot of hype and recognition. The old Conor, the hungry Conor, that was the fighter that fighters respected. Now, not that we don’t respect him at all, he’s still a UFC fighter, but he’s just a regular fighter.”
McGregor has fought just three times since becoming the UFC lightweight and featherweight champion back at UFC 205 in November of 2016. He's gone 1-2 in those outings, with his lone victory coming via a 40 second TKO over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020. The Irishman will return to the Octagon next at UFC 264 on July 10 when he completes his trilogy with fellow lightweight contender Dustin Poirier.
After an incredible performance at #UFC246, a beautiful moment between @TheNotoriousMMA and Grandma Cerrone #Bestof2020pic.twitter.com/fD1q1Xyj0r
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) December 25, 2020
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