UFC megastar Conor McGregor has changed due to the success he’s had in his career and the money he’s earned, believes Michael Bisping.
McGregor has made an astonishing amount of money during his fighting career, and turned up to his most recent fight in a yacht.
The former lightweight champion has been accused of taking his eyes off the sport in recent years, most notably after he fought Floyd Mayweather and reportedly earned upwards of £100million.
He was knocked out by Dustin Poirier in his most recent trip to the cage, being stopped in the second round after a year out of the octagon.
McGregor has retired twice since he last held a world title, and Bisping thinks he’s a victim of his own success.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the former middleweight explained that he’d suffered from the same thing after starting to make serious money.
Bisping said: “The Conor McGregor of old is just like the me of old. It doesn’t exist anymore.
“I’m a nice guy, I’m a pussy cat, but I used to be a bit of a nightmare. With Conor McGregor, it’s the same thing.
“The man’s loaded. He’s pulling up on $100 million yachts and got million dollar watches. He gets chauffeured in Rolls Royce’s.
“Evander Holyfield [sic] said ‘it’s hard to get out and run at 6am when you’re sleeping in silk sheets’.
“Fighters, we’re hungry and want to turn it around. Maybe we’re cut from the same type of cloth or the wrong side of town.
“We like to fight and that’s our only hope. The dream is to make some money and turn your life around, he’s done that in a big way and he’s never going to go skint.”
Bisping went on to explain that he believes McGregor can still beat Poirier when they meet for a third time in July.
“That’s not an insult, that’s just the reality of the situation,” Bisping added.
“It doesn’t mean he can’t go out there and have a great performance and win, because he can. It’s going to be a tough fight though.”
