Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone Says Conor McGregor is Disliked by All Other Fighters

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor is far more than a fantastic fighter. He’s also a venomous trash talker. Though many have attempted to hang with the Irishman on the mic, very few have actually been able to match him in that department.

Unsurprisingly, McGregor’s ceaseless trash talk has made him a bit of a villain among his peers. According to fan favourite welterweight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, the Irish star is disliked by the vast majority of his fellow fighters.

“By all,” Cerrone told Sports Illustrated Now when asked if McGregor is disliked by his peers. “He’s not one of the fellas, he’s not a good dude. It is what it is. He does a good job promoting the sport, he does a good job of making money. So I can’t hate the guy for that, but just as a person he ain’t a fan of mine.” 

Cerrone went on to explain that this widespread dislike for McGregor is not so much because of his trash talk, but because he tends to be fairly quiet during backstage encounters. In fact, Cerrone says that McGregor is generally provided a private room at UFC press events, because he doesn’t like to mingle with his peers.

“Behind the scenes he’s like a scared little kid,” Cerrone said. “He hides from us.”

“They line us all up in a line, but they take Conor and they put him off in another room because he can’t be around the other fighters because we don’t play that sh*t,” he continued.  

Though Cerrone is happy to admit that he and his fellow fighters are not part of McGregor’s massive fan base, he also conceded that he believes the Irish star is good for the sport.

“He’s definitely good for the sport. He’s got a lot of eyes. He brings a lot of people,” Cerrone explained. “So my hat’s off to him for that, but [to] just like hang with him like a fella, no, he’d never be my buddy.”

McGregor and Cerrone will both compete at UFC 205 this November 12, against UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum respectively. Though they’re currently competing in different weight classes, it would not be shocking to see these two fan favorites collide sometime in the future.

Are you surprised that McGregor is not popular among his fellow fighters? Sound off, PENN nation!