Conor McGregor has been named among the top three fighters of all-time in the UFC by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
McGregor is considered arguably the biggest superstar in the promotion's history having sold eight of the top-ten selling pay-per-views. However he has recorded just one victory in his last four outings in the octagon, and broke his leg during a second consecutive defeat by Dustin Poirier last year.
Despite his recent decline, UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski named McGregor alongside Georges St Pierre and teammate Israel Adesanya in his top-three. “McGregor’s going to obviously have to be in that conversation because you talk about being successful," Volkanovski told Man of Many when naming his top three UFC fighters ever. "Does he do some silly things sometimes? Is he a role model?
"But at the same time, look at the legacy he’s left behind. Look at the money he’s made. He’s successful. He doesn’t even have to fight anymore. Even after this career, we fighters need to have goals, and he showed that. He’s raised the bar when you look at it that way.
“Then you’ve got guys like GSP who just did everything right. He’s still got a great legacy and he didn’t have to be someone he wasn’t. That’s something that I look up to and I think is pretty incredible. But I mean, for him to do what he’s done and be in the position he is right now, he’s pretty incredible, and be the person he was the whole time I admire that.
"To see guys like Izzy, doing what he’s doing. Even right now being true to himself and being still the loyal man he is. Yeah, A lot of people don’t get to see that, but he’s one loyal dude. Family man. And at the same time, he’s got a lot of eyes on him and he’s doing his thing. And whether you like it or not, he’s going to do it. And the eyes are on him, so you’ve got to respect that.”
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McGregor has reigned as champion in two-weight classes, and became the first person in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously when he defeated Eddie Alvarez in 2016. However his recent decline has been a concern for fans having won just one fight since then against Donald Cerrone at 170lb in 2020.
He is eyeing a return to the highest level later this year after making a return to training, and has most recently called for a shot at welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. McGregor believes that a switch to 170lb is more realistic after putting on weight during his recovery period.
"Why cut the weight? I've already won the 155-pound title," he told TheMacLife "I got myself to a lightweight frame, but you know, I'm big now, I feel big, I feel strong, I feel healthy. I've got good energy. I'm coming back from a gruesome injury. I don't want to be depleting myself. There should be no need to deplete myself."
