Daniel Cormier praises Conor McGregor for his ability to turn opponents into stars: “He has elevated two of my best friends”

Daniel Cormier is praising Conor McGregor for his ability to turn opponents into stars.

Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA) joined the UFC in 2013 and will be marking his tenth anniversary with the promotion this August. ‘Notorious’ has not fought in the Octagon since July of 2021 where he went down to defeat against Dustin Poirier (29-7 MMA) via way of TKO.

McGregor, 34, is supposed to make his much-anticipated return to the cage to fight Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA) following TUF 31.

The Ultimate Fighter 31 will see Conor McGregor and fellow lightweight Michael Chandler go head-to-head coaching a squad of up-and-coming MMA fighters. The 12-episode season will air on ESPN, with one episode released every Tuesday night beginning May 30, 2023.

Ahead of McGregor’s 10th anniversary with the UFC and his upcoming TUF 31 series, Daniel Cormier shared his thoughts on what the fighter has done for the sport.

Cormier, speaking on his ESPN show ‘DC & RC’ had this to say about the Irishman (h/t MMAJunkie):

“He has elevated two of my best friends. Two of the guys that I love, that I appreciate in this sport more than anyone. He has elevated Khabib (Nurmagomedov) to a megastar, and he has elevated Dustin Poirier to a level of stardom that Dustin never could’ve imagined getting before. So not only does he help himself, he helps the guys that he shares the octagon with – especially the ones that can beat him.”

Cormier also spoke at McGregor’s knockout of Jose Aldo (31-8 MMA) way back in December of 2015 at UFC 194 saying:

“In the Aldo fight, for all we knew about Jose Aldo, the greatness, how annoyed he was with Conor McGregor – we thought he was going to punish the brash Irishman. And then he knocked him out in 14 (13) seconds and the world was turned on its’ access, and the world really became his in that night. On that night, it was Conor McGregor’s world.”

Do you agree with Daniel Cormier’s commentary concerning Conor McGregor? Are you anxiously awaiting the upcoming battle between the Irishman and ‘Iron’?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!