Conor McGregor has ulterior motives for taking TUF coaching offer, says Belal Muhammad
UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad believes Conor McGregor's decision to coach on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) could be a ploy to help generate success for his upcoming movie.
The Irishman has been out of the octagon for a year-and-a-half after suffering a serious leg break in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier in July 2021. The injury required major surgery and the former double champion has since been in recovery.
Whilst nursing the injury, the Irishman also tested the acting waters in a movie that will hit the screens later this year. 'Road House', a remake of the classic 1989 action film, will star McGregor alongside Jake Gyllenhaal.
Conor McGregor and Jake Gyllenhaal in the Road House movie reboot https://t.co/Jx8SBPS4Zq
Conor McGregor also took to Instagram to confirm that he'd been offered a role on TUF once again. 'Notorious' previously appeared on the show in 2015 where he coached his team to victory against Uriah Faber.
Whilst nothing has been confirmed by either McGregor or the UFC, many fans and fighters are speculating about the potential news. Belal Muhammad weighed in on Twitter and stated that he believes McGregor is only considering a role on TUF as it will help promote his new movie when it releases:
"He has a movie coming out he had to get relevant again before it hits theaters"
He has a movie coming out he had to get relevant again before it hits theaters twitter.com/martinp_mma/st…
Former UFC heavyweight believes Conor McGregor is the reason UFC champions aren't paid more
Conor McGregor is undoubtedly the biggest star the UFC has ever produced, as evidenced by his inclusion in Forbes' list of the highest-paid athletes in 2021. The Irishman has also been allowed to compete in other sports, as he faced Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring in 2017.
According to former UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell, however, McGregor's success has negatively impacted the fighters on the roster. He believes the UFC won't allow another star to reach the same level as 'Notorious'.
Rothwell explained to MMA Junkie that McGregor's "crazy" demands at the height of his powers, such as his pay, would have made the UFC wary about giving the same leeway to other fighters:
"Maybe for Conor McGregor and Conor makes a special deal at a special contract, but I'm pretty sure the UFC, after what they went through with him, are never gonna let that happen again. Be a wild man, being crazy, making the demands, getting the crazy pays that he got. They don't want that. Anything that hurts the pocketbook... The sh*t's gonna come to a stop with that. That means fighters are gonna suffer. It means fighters aren't gonna get what they deserve."
Catch Rothwell's interview with MMA Junkie here: