Dricus du Plessis argues why Conor McGregor still deserves his flowers despite recent controversies and legal battles: "Everybody's kind of jealous"

UFC champion Dricus du Plessis has credited Conor McGregor’s mental warfare with revolutionizing MMA. He believes McGregor’s influence extends far beyond his in-cage achievements. Speaking ahead of his rematch with Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in Sydney, du Plessis praised McGregor for transforming fighter pay and shifting the sport’s narrative.

Du Plessis, the current middleweight champion who captured UFC gold at UFC 297 by defeating Strickland before submitting Israel Adesanya in his first title defense, recalled how McGregor’s bold mentality inspired him early in his career.

"When he burst on the scene, he almost changed the game in terms of mentality. Bringing in mental warfare, [but] not only saying nasty s***, no. Bringing in mental warfare as a tactic."

Speaking further on 'The Notorious', he said:

"He did what no man before him could do. He beat Jose Aldo, who was my favourite all time fighter at that stage... Then he goes on to become the first double division champion in an absolute clinical display against Eddie Alvarez. And people forget about that immediately now because it's been a while. The man [is] sitting on his yacht - jeez. It's kind of easy to sit here and judge but I think everybody's kind of jealous of that."

'Stillknocks' added:

"The man's done some controversial stuff, but that's a completely different story as the Conor McGregor as an athlete. You have to give that man all the respect and thanks as fighters because of what happened to this sport because of him. And the raise in pay. It's as simple as that because of somebody like him who changed the narrative." [H/t: TalkSport]

Check out Dricus du Plessis' full interview below:

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Chael Sonnen weighs in on Conor McGregor’s ability to headline UFC events

Chael Sonnen has questioned Conor McGregor’s ability to headline UFC events following a series of injuries reminiscent of Chris Weidman’s traumatic setback. McGregor broke his leg in a July 2021 rematch loss to Dustin Poirier and later suffered a toe injury during his preparations for a comeback bout.

Sonnen stressed that disciplined rehabilitation, as shown by Weidman’s recovery process, is essential for competing at the highest level. Comparing the two fighters, Sonnen noted:

"Whatever adult allows Conor McGregor to return with the same exact injury that Chris Weidman had. Now, Chris Weidman being possibly the most disciplined guy in the sport, Conor being the most undisciplined guy in the sport. Chris Weidman doing everything right - from rehab to taking his time to focusing on being at home at night and going to bed and getting rest on his leg. He did everything right and did not return as somebody who could follow the basic rule, which was to protect yourself at all times, right?"

Check out Chael Sonnen's remarks on Conor McGregor below: