T.J. Dillashaw thinks Conor McGregor’s antics are ‘too fake, too WWE’

While it doesn’t come as a surprise considering his Team Alpha Male affiliation, go ahead and count UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw among those who are put off by Conor McGregor’s brash and theatrical style.

The fighting pride of Ireland, McGregor sealed his UFC title shot with an easy second-round TKO victory over Dennis Siver at Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 59 card. With a perfect 5-0 Octagon record, McGregor is now tentatively slated to challenge featherweight champion Jose Aldo this May in Las Vegas, NV. The fight will likely be the highest-grossing featherweight title fight in UFC history, and will even be a chance for McGregor to avenge Dillashaw teammates Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes by finally derailing Aldo’s seven-year reign.

But that doesn’t mean Dillashaw is pulling for the upset.

“This will be probably the first time I’m rooting for Jose Aldo,” Dillashaw said on Tuesday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “[McGregor] is a great fighter, he’s confident in the cage, he’s really, really good. It’s just, the antics. To me, I can’t get it. I’m just too professional for the way he acts.”

McGregor and Dillashaw’s Sacramento stablemate, Mendes, have engaged in more than a few contentious exchanges since the Irishman entered the public spotlight two years ago, including an infamous television spot last October in which McGregor bluntly proclaimed to the Team Alpha Male standout, “I could rest my balls on your forehead,” so it’s no shocker that Dillashaw isn’t McGregor’s biggest fan.

Dillashaw pointed to McGregor’s recent UFC Fight Night 59 post-fight antics — vaulting over the cage and (kind of) confronting Aldo — as further reasoning for why McGregor’s approach to the fight game just doesn’t sit right in his eyes.

“I know it brings attention to the sport, I know it builds up fights. It’s just too WWE for me, man,” Dillashaw said. “It’s just too fake, when he jumps the Octagon and tries to get in Aldo’s face, but grabs someone to hold him back at the same time. It’s just so fake, man.

“I hope [Aldo finishes him],” Dillashaw added. “But I don’t know, man. McGregor’s standup and his movements are really good. His confidence. It’s going to be a tough fight for Aldo, but I’m rooting for Aldo.”

While it doesn’t come as a surprise considering his Team Alpha Male affiliation, go ahead and count UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw among those who are put off by Conor McGregor’s brash and theatrical style.

The fighting pride of Ireland, McGregor sealed his UFC title shot with an easy second-round TKO victory over Dennis Siver at Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 59 card. With a perfect 5-0 Octagon record, McGregor is now tentatively slated to challenge featherweight champion Jose Aldo this May in Las Vegas, NV. The fight will likely be the highest-grossing featherweight title fight in UFC history, and will even be a chance for McGregor to avenge Dillashaw teammates Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes by finally derailing Aldo’s seven-year reign.

But that doesn’t mean Dillashaw is pulling for the upset.

“This will be probably the first time I’m rooting for Jose Aldo,” Dillashaw said on Tuesday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “[McGregor] is a great fighter, he’s confident in the cage, he’s really, really good. It’s just, the antics. To me, I can’t get it. I’m just too professional for the way he acts.”

McGregor and Dillashaw’s Sacramento stablemate, Mendes, have engaged in more than a few contentious exchanges since the Irishman entered the public spotlight two years ago, including an infamous television spot last October in which McGregor bluntly proclaimed to the Team Alpha Male standout, “I could rest my balls on your forehead,” so it’s no shocker that Dillashaw isn’t McGregor’s biggest fan.

Dillashaw pointed to McGregor’s recent UFC Fight Night 59 post-fight antics — vaulting over the cage and (kind of) confronting Aldo — as further reasoning for why McGregor’s approach to the fight game just doesn’t sit right in his eyes.

“I know it brings attention to the sport, I know it builds up fights. It’s just too WWE for me, man,” Dillashaw said. “It’s just too fake, when he jumps the Octagon and tries to get in Aldo’s face, but grabs someone to hold him back at the same time. It’s just so fake, man.

“I hope [Aldo finishes him],” Dillashaw added. “But I don’t know, man. McGregor’s standup and his movements are really good. His confidence. It’s going to be a tough fight for Aldo, but I’m rooting for Aldo.”