Daniel Cormier didn’t hold back on the Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe, questioning Conor McGregor’s constant UFC comeback teases as a ploy to stay in the spotlight. He also reflected on McGregor’s heated rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov, noting Khabib’s refusal to say McGregor’s name and his commanding win at UFC 229.
Cormier on McGregor’s Intentions
Cormier said:
“Conor says he wants to fight all the time, and everybody jumps to it, but it’s like, he wants to stay relevant, he wants to stay in the news, he wants the notoriety of being Conor McGregor without having to be Conor McGregor.” He added, “That kind of sucks because when he was the man, I bet you tapped in, I bet you tapped into the UFC more than ever because he could sell a fight.”
Khabib’s Deep Grudge
Cormier emphasized Khabib’s resentment, saying:
“He won’t say his name still today. He still does not say his name. He still won’t say his name. Last week he did an interview in New York and he said ‘This guy.’ He’ll never say his name. He hates him!” Recalling UFC 229, Cormier said, “Dude, they’re in the octagon and Conor goes, he whispers after the third round, after Khabib’s [beating him], ‘It’s just business.’ Khabib goes, no it ain’t. No it ain’t.”
Cormier described Khabib’s dominance, saying:
“He was going to kill him. He was going to put him to sleep. He was holding him and he said, ‘I kicked your ass. I kicked your ass.’ Then he jumped over the fence and tried to beat his team. I was like, ‘Woah!’” He added, “But dude, he had him. He was not going to let him go because he felt his family got so disrespected by this dude that he wanted to end him. And honestly, sometimes you bite off more than you can chew. Because Conor got beat bad that night. He got beat bad.”
Conor McGregor started MMA in 2008, going 10-2 before joining the UFC in 2013. He won the featherweight title in 2015, knocking out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds, and the lightweight title in 2016, stopping Eddie Alvarez. His UFC record is 22-6, with wins over Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, and Donald Cerrone. He lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov by submission in 2018 and to Poirier twice in 2021. After a leg injury at UFC 264 in July 2021, McGregor hasn’t fought but re-entered the USADA testing pool in 2025.
Khabib Nurmagomedov debuted in the UFC in 2012, going 13-0. He won the lightweight title in 2018 against Al Iaquinta and defended it against McGregor, Poirier, and Justin Gaethje. His record is 29-0. After retiring in 2020 following his father’s death, Khabib coaches fighters like Islam Makhachev. His feud with McGregor, sparked by McGregor’s insults about his family and religion, led to a post-fight brawl at UFC 229.
At UFC 229 on October 6, 2018, Khabib submitted McGregor in the fourth round with a neck crank. McGregor’s pre-fight taunts, targeting Khabib’s family and religion, fueled the bad blood. After the win, Khabib jumped the cage to attack McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis, sparking a brawl. Both were fined and suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission. The event drew 2.4 million pay-per-view buys, a UFC record.
McGregor has teased a UFC return for years, recently mentioning a 2026 White House event announced by Donald Trump. He was set to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June 2024 but withdrew due to a broken toe. Dana White confirmed McGregor’s training and testing pool re-entry, but Cormier doubts his commitment. McGregor also claimed a February 2025 fight with Dan Hooker in Saudi Arabia, which Dana White denied.
