Everyone is trying to get their hands on Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) superstar Conor McGregor. The Irish sensation has taking mixed martial arts (MMA) by the balls and holds the key to the biggest paydays the sport has to offer. So it’s difficult to blame McGregor’s fellow combatants for jockeying for position and trying to land a bout with the one they call “Notorious.”
But just because other UFC fighters make note of McGregor’s worth doesn’t mean they can stand him. As a matter of fact, according to UFC lightweight and welterweight standout Donald Cerrone, nobody on the UFC roster likes the featherweight king.
“By all,” said Cerrone in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated Now when asked if McGregor is disliked by other fighters. “He’s not one of the fellas, he’s not a good dude. It is what it is. He does a good job promoting the sport, he does a good job of making money. So I can’t hate the guy for that, but just as a person he ain’t a fan of mine.”
Cerrone has already exchanged unpleasantries with McGregor before so this shouldn’t come as a total surprise. Still, it’s uncommon that a fighter is disliked by an entire promotion, especially considering McGregor is usually friendly off camera.
“Behind the scenes he’s like a scared little kid,” added Cerrone. “He hides from us.”
“They line us all up in a line, but they take Conor and they put him off in another room because he can’t be around the other fighters because we don’t play that sh*t.”
Love him or hate him, which apparently many UFC fighters do, McGregor is doing his thing atop the MMA world. He may have temporarily hit a road block at UFC 196 in the form of Nate Diaz, but the 28-year-old rebounded nicely with a win at UFC 202 to reaffirm his position as the biggest selling attraction in the sport today, and possibly of all time.
“He’s definitely good for the sport. He’s got a lot of eyes. He brings a lot of people,” said Cerrone. “So my hat’s off to him for that, but [to] just like hang with him like a fella, no, he’d never be my buddy.”
McGregor is currently scheduled to challenge UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 on Nov. 12 in New York City to become the first fighter ever to simultaneously hold two divisional titles, while “Cowboy” takes on welterweight Kelvin Gastelum on the same night.