Ben Askren highlights contract disputes of Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Francis Ngannou, and other big stars with Dana White and UFC brass

Conor McGregor is one of the biggest combat sports stars of all time, but that hasn't stopped him from facing past contractual hurdles with Dana White and the UFC by proxy. Other names like Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz stand out as well in terms of historic contract disputes with the UFC according to a former multi-promotion MMA champion.

Ben Askren was discussing this subject at length with Daniel Cormier on a recent episode of Funky and the Champ. 'Funky' Ben Askren and DC segued into this subject after initially chatting about Jon Jones' current situation. Cormier feels like there is some negotiation-related trickery going on amid recent reports that 'Bones' wants six months to prepare for a title unification bout against Tom Aspinall.

When describing the differences he has historically noticed between Cormier's negotiation style of pushing just enough to get a satisfying contract versus some past fighters who have tried to force the issue financially, Askren said,

"So, on the other side of this, you know, you have a Francis Ngannou which had a very ugly dispute. You've had Conor McGregor, you've had the Diaz brothers, you know. Many people, if I thought about it hard I'd probably think of another three or four more, especially earlier.

"Like Randy Couture was a huge one really early on. Tito Ortiz was a big one, and so you had these stars that were constantly just doing this with Dana because Dana didn't want them to have too much leverage and too big of stars."

Check out Askren's thoughts on past contractual issues among big UFC stars [at the 2:24 mark] below:

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Daniel Cormier hopes for a better end to the UFC run of Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor has not fought in several years since a catastrophic leg break in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021 put him on the sidelines. On the same episode of Funky and the Champ, Cormier expressed that if we never see Conor McGregor in the octagon again, that final visual of the Irish superstar would be 'kind of sad'.

Further expounding upon that thought while speaking to Ben Askren, Cormier stated, [via MMA Junkie],

"It's like, when a guy comes, and he's that successful, and he's that good, you hope that the last time you see him in the octagon is him fighting - even if it's him losing. You don't want the last memory is him sitting in the octagon with a broken leg, yelling at Dustin Poirier's wife. It was the craziest vision I've ever seen."

The 36-year-old had targeted a comeback last June before a broken pinky toe forced McGregor to withdraw from his return bout with Michael Chandler for UFC 303. However, Daniel Cormier may potentially see more of a future for McGregor in politics rather than fighting inside the cage based on recent comments about the Dublin native visiting the White House.