Daniel Cormier has questioned if Conor McGregor's gimmick has taken over his real character in the UFC.
The Dubliner's outside-of-the-cage antics have continued, after he clashed with Machine Gun Kelly at the VMA's last week.
He is currently continuing his recovery from a broken leg injury, suffered during a dismal defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
And former heavyweight Cormier has questioned whether McGregor's character is now being overshadowed by his actions.
“The crazy thing about McGregor is when I say the gimmick, I mean the billionaire with the strut and the fancy cars and the money, because the reality is it’s the WWE,” Cormier told MMA Fighting .
“You get a character, your character can be The Billionaire, your character can be Vince MacMahon. Vince MacMahon is the evil boss but Vince MacMahon, when he hits that curtain in the back he becomes Vince MacMahon the CEO and Chairman of the WWE.
“Conor McGregor is the fighter but Conor McGregor also lives this big life and that’s where I ask, ‘Has this gimmick overtaken who Conor McGregor is as a person?’
“You can’t turn that off, It doesn’t matter how much money you have, you can’t turn it off. You can’t turn that burning desire to hit that curtain off. When you hit that curtain, it is the most intense thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve ever felt and experienced.
McGregor has been involved in several incidents since his defeat, including a social media spat with Khabib Nurmagomedov where he aimed a tweet at his late father.
But Cormier has empathised with McGregor and spoke from his own experiences in the cage.
"You come through the crowd. You walk through the crowd and the hands are reaching towards you, everybody’s screaming, that’s what you get from the UFC," Cormier continued.
"But you don’t have a helmet on, your face is not hidden, you’re just you, as naked as you can be, walking through that see of fans where somebody wants a piece of you. It’s addicting.
"And when that octagon door closes, that fight, knowing that that man wants to take you out, that feeling is second to none, and for Conor McGregor, who is a fighter, you can’t replace that.
"A dollar amount will not equate to what you feel when you feel the mat on your bare feet, when you’re in there with the referee and the guy and you know what’s coming next.
"You can’t replace that with a dollar value and I think that’s why Conor will never lean into celebrity more than the actual fighter.”
It was revealed that McGregor defied doctor's orders to attend the VMA's where he confronted Kelly.
And the 33-year-old has been warned by Chael Sonnen that he could become "a rich little weirdo" after his latest antics.
But McGregor is now considering multiple options upon his UFC return, which he has hinted could be as early as this year as he returns to Ireland.
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