VIDEO | Dominick Cruz: Fighters are jealous of Conor McGregor’s money

Prior to UFC 202 back in August, UFC President Dana White stated that Conor McGregor would need to return to featherweight to defend his featherweight strap after his rematch with Nate Diaz.

Ultimately however, after McGregor picked up his majority decision win over Diaz back in August, he signed on to fight Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 in a lightweight title fight. That didn’t sit too well with several fighters, most notably Jose Aldo, who requested his release from the promotion after expressing a lack of faith in the UFC brass. Dana White attempted to calm the situation by informing everyone that McGregor will have to relinquish one of the championships if he emerges from UFC 205 victorious.

UFC fan favorite fighter Donald Cerrone recently revealed in an interview that McGregor isn’t all that popular among his fellow fighters. According to UFC bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz however, that isn’t the case.

‘The Dominator’ spoke to TMZ, where he refuted Cerrone’s claims that McGregor is the most hated fighter on the roster:

“I don’t know where the actual statistic of that is. So for me, I don’t really base things on opinions, I base things on facts, and I don’t have a factual basis that everyone in the UFC hates the guy. I think what they’re upset at is the fact of how much money he made how quickly on his own. And the way the UFC kind of…favors him in all these matters. But, that doesn’t make me hate him. That makes me try to understand the situation, and make a better situation for myself. You gotta play the cards the way they’re given, and I wasn’t given the same cards as him, so I have to use the cards that I’ve been given to grow with that.”

It is worth mentioning that UFC President Dana White has stated that McGregor has a “personal” announcement to make “out of left field” following his UFC 205 fight with Alvarez.

While McGregor has made no mention of the announcement, sources have revealed that he will be taking around a year or so off from fighting in order to help his girlfriend, Dee Devlin, take care of their newborn child.