Conor McGregor has been warned he will find it "very difficult" to become UFC champion again after his recent decline.
The Irishman is plotting a return to action this year after suffering back-to-back defeats by Dustin Poirier in 2021.
McGregor has talked up an immediate title shot upon his comeback against the winner of Charles Oliveira's upcoming defence against Justin Gaethje.
But retired UFC heavyweight Daniel Cormier believes McGregor could struggle to defeat some of the new "evolved" talent in the promotion.
"I think that's hard to expect him to get back to where he was, it would be very difficult," Cormier told the Daily Mail. "The sport constantly evolves. The guys are better. The guys are, you know, more in shape, ready to go.
'They now understand what they have in front of them. I think one of the biggest things that Conor had for himself, was that nobody really had seen him. Nobody had seen that type of striker back in 2014/2015.
"Now, like, those guys are littered around weight classes, and they've gotten used to dealing with them. And I think that's why he's come into the problems that he's had. Because it's not new anymore."
McGregor has recently been holidaying in the Bahamas as his recovery from a broken leg suffered against Poirier continues.
The 33-year-old has promised to make the "greatest comeback ever" to his fans having dropped down to ninth position in the official lightweight rankings.
Several opponents have thrown themselves into the mix for a shot at McGregor on his return including Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler.
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Cormier believes the UFC superstar needs a victory over an opponent with "high name value" but does not believe McGregor should pursue a fourth meeting with Poirier.
"His rules are different from everyone else," Cormier continued. "He's constantly in contention regardless of what's happening in the fights.
"Now he's lost. I mean, he's lost three fights in a row now. So he's lost, like two fights in a row, three or four. But if he comes back, and he has a great performance, he'll be right away back into contention.
"I think what we'll see is somebody manageable. Right, the Cowboy (Cerrone) fight was someone manageable. So someone with high name value, but not necessarily the threat of a Dustin Poirier."
