Daniel Cormier thinks Conor McGregor fighting compromised at UFC 303 would have been too risky.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) pulled out of Saturday’s main event vs. Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas after breaking his pinky toe in training. McGregor was set to return from a three-year layoff after suffering a broken leg in July 2021. “The Notorious” withdrew from a UFC fight for the first time in his career, but Cormier said he has to be more cautious at this point in his career.
“I believe that it’s been so long that he cannot go on with the fight because he has far too much to lose,” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “I also hear it’s the toe on the same side as the broken leg.”
McGregor didn’t receive too much sympathy from fellow fighters as the likes of former rival Rafael dos Anjos, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and lightweight champ Islam Makhachev jumped at the opportunity to criticize him for withdrawing from the fight.
Cormier thinks it’s a smart strategy to try and goad him into a fight.
“When I look at it, I think it becomes an opportunity for just about every fighter in his orbit,” Cormier said. “You (Sonnen) and Conor can go back-and-forth, but ultimately all it’s going to be is a whole bunch of words. But for Islam Makhachev, for Ilia Topuria, when they go at Conor McGregor, that may ultimately lead to something. They’re both holding gold belts.
“If neither of those guys had a championship belt, their words would be like those other random fighters who call out Conor McGregor. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t care enough to respond. But when you hold a gold belt, you can actually say Conor’s name, and he will respond to you. That injury, what it was, and why he pulled out, now opens the door for all those guys. Leon Edwards should say something. If I’m the champion, I’m saying, ‘Well that’s BS, you fight with a broken toe.'”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
