Conor McGregor has been warned that he could suffer the same worrying decline as Ronda Rousey when he makes his return to UFC action.
The Irish star is looking to make his return to the cage next year with his recovery from a broken leg injury suffered in July continuing.
His fracture ended the trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 prematurely in the opening round and confined him to his second consecutive defeat.
And the Irish star has faced a concerning assessment from Chael Sonnen who has warned McGregor to be careful not to fall into a similar trap to Rousey upon his return.
"Conor cannot be expected to return better than he left," Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. "That would defy every rule of basic logic that a human being has.
"You don't get better at something by not doing it. You don't get better at something by not practicing. You get better at something being forced on the sidelines because you have an injury.
"So if we try to put Conor right back in there in a very meaningful fight against any of the top guys, we're asking for too much and we're going to make Conor a victim of his own success. Exactly what happened to Ronda Rousey."
Rousey suffered consecutive defeats to Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm at the end of her UFC career.
She was also victim of outside-the-cage scrutiny and an array of alternative offers as her career ended on a sharp note.
And McGregor will be looking to revive his own career having slid down to ninth in the UFC's lightweight rankings behind the likes of Islam Makhachev and Rafael Dos Anjos.
He has promised fans "something special" on his return after showing a new shredded physique as his rehabilitation path continues to play out.
But Sonnen has proposed an opponent at the level of retired fighter Paul Felder would be more suitable for his return from injury.
"There is other matches that you could do where all of a sudden you can make up some ground with Conor," Sonnen continued. "Man, I'll throw a name at you. Paul Felder.
"Paul Felder is retired. If Paul Felder came back for Conor McGregor he would lock down into an eight-week training the same as Conor's going to do. It is going to be even. And they're gonna go out and have a match, together that makes a lot of sense."
McGregor has been accused by fans of losing touch with reality after his latest social media outburst alluded to cheating during his third meeting with Poirier.
And he was also forced to respond to rumours he was "drunk" after launching another scathing insult to his bitter American rival.
Before any return to action in the UFC, McGregor will n ow make his comeback fight against impressionist Al Foran in a wheelchair boxing match after confirming the news on social media.
