'Victims of their own success' - Chael Sonnen compares Conor McGregor's incredible rise and rapid decline to that of Ronda Rousey
Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel where he compared MMA star Conor McGregor's rise and fall in the UFC to that of former women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
'The American Gangster' said that the Irishman stands at the same crossroads where 'Rowdy' stood in the latter stages of her career.
According to Sonnen, the success of both MMA stars has worked against them.
"There's athletes who become victims of their own success. It's a reality. I'll bring Ronda [Rousey] into this, a name that you guys would know. Ronda got so good and she got so big, her contract got so beautiful in terms of her payment and participation that she has to headline. You could not bring her in and put her as a co-main event. You would have no money left to pay your real main event. You couldn't bring her in to be the second fight on the main card. You'd have no budget left.
"Not only was she fighting in main events, she was fighting world championship fights in main events. So, when she drops a couple...she was still one of the gals and this was something she wanted to do. She would have been meaningful, she would have been competitive...but she couldn't do it in main events against world champions which is essentially what her level of success called for." Chael Sonnen said.
'The American Gangster' said Conor McGregor is going through the same thing. He believes the Irishman will not be able to compete with the world champions after seeing his last two performances against Dustin Poirier.
In the video, the 44-year-old also questioned whether McGregor will have enough motivation to compete at the highest level of competition in the UFC.
You can watch the full video below:
Ronda Rousey praises Conor McGregor for the Irishman's actions post-fight at UFC 264
Ronda Rousey took to Twitter to praise Conor McGregor for having a great presence of mind to promote his next fight while he was suffering from a broken tibia, an injury which had cost him the trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier.
Conor McGregor responded to 'Rowdy', thanking the former women's bantamweight champion for her kind words.