Conor McGregor has to sort out some "lifestyle issues" if he is to get back to winning ways, according to UFC legend Randy Couture.
The Irishman has been out of action for over a year with a broken leg suffered in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last summer. And during that time he has spent a lot of time on holiday, rubbing shoulders with celebrities and committing to extra-curricular activities outside of the octagon.
And Couture, who is still actively involved in the sport as an ambassador for the Professional Fighters' League (PFL), believes his fellow former two-weight world champion needs to fix his issues outside of the cage before returning to success inside of it.
McGregor has recently signed on for his first major movie role in the remake of Roadhouse with Jake Gyllenhal, and frequently posts about smoking "big blunts" on his plush yacht. He is also said to be in talks for a second boxing outing against Floyd Mayweather, having gone 10 rounds with the 50-0 legend in their 2017 crossover fight.
But Couture feels that he would struggle even more in a rematch. Speaking with Mirror Fighting at an event where PFL spoke with members of the Dynamite Youth Centre in New York, he said: "I think Conor has some lifestyle issues that he's sorting through.
"To be honest, the first fight was a lot more exciting than I thought it might be. Conor did some things that are indigenous to MMA, he ended up behind Floyd a couple of times which made him be like 'where did he go?'"
But Couture was disappointed that after McGregor made a massive $100million payout for the record-breaking fight, he opted not to take a stance for improved fighter pay across the board. The lack of public support for his fellow fighters has been something used by YouTube star-turned-boxer Jake Paul in his frequent battles with McGregor in the media over recent years.
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"Technically I think it was interesting," Couture said of the fight. "But Conor had an opportunity to shine a light on the disparaging difference in fighter pay too, and he chose not to which bothered me a little bit. So I always wish him well, I've never met the man so I don't really have a strong opinion. I'm not a fan of the extra-curricular activities or the publicity stunts and that kind of c***, I think it distracts from our sport.
"Floyd talks as well as anybody so those two will be able to generate a lot of heat and publicity for that fight. Good for them, I hope it goes well for them both."
Randy Couture was speaking as an ambassador for the PFL. Stevie Ray fights Anthony Pettis in the lightweight PFL play-offs tonight at the Hulu Theatre in Madison Square Garden, live on Channel 4 at midnight
