Conor McGregor’s fighting career is on the wane, if top MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz is to be believed. Abdelaziz is the manager of key figures and rivals of McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kamaru Usman.
In a rant that will give fans of McGregor a harsh reality check as to where he may stand at the minute, Abdelaziz claimed he will soon be resorting to fighting celebrities such as Jake Paul for large sums unless he sorts his UFC career out.
McGregor’s last appearance inside the Octagon came back in January; a poor and uninspiring performance against Dustin Poirier in which he looked very flat, resulting in a TKO win for the American.
During an appearance on Mike Tyson’s podcast, Hot Boxin’ with Mike Tyson, Abdelaziz made the claim against a man whom he has shared a troubled history with.
“You make money when you fight Conor McGregor, because he’s a draw,” explained Abdelaziz .”But how long is that going to last for? Him and Dustin Poirier, I like Dustin, but both looked like s*** [when they fought at UFC 257 earlier this year].
The McGregor thing is finished. McGregor now is going to be fighting Jake Paul, the Kardashians, he’s gonna fight chicks… That’s what’s going on.”
One wonders the true motive of these outlandish claims from Abdelaziz, whether it is to instigate another big-money fight between the Irishman and one of his clients, or just another personal jibe at him, who knows.
Luckily for McGregor, and contrary to Abdelaziz, he is performing as stellar as ever financially, despite what may appear to be a declining set of combat skills.
He is still undoubtedly the UFC’S biggest draw and most popular fighter. The Poirier fight reportedly did 1.6 million pay-per-view buys, one of the largest in the UFC’s history for a non-title bout. That was almost 300,000 more than Khabib Nurmagomedov’s and Kamaru Usman’s most recent fights combined, two of Ali Abdelaziz’s most decorated clients.
McGregor also topped the Forbes’ list of richest athletes this year, easily beating household sporting figures such as Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Lionel Messi.
He took home a cool £128million, mainly through his whiskey endeavours and various sponsorship deals, which include the likes of Burger King, Reebok and Beats by Dre.
If there’s one thing Conor McGregor is lacking in, it’s not popularity, that’s for sure.