“He is Stone Cold Steve Austin”: Daniel Cormier likens Conor McGregor to legendary WWE fan favourite

LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT stars Daniel Cormier and Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson may have different views on where the UFC’s 205lb title will end up after UFC 206, but the rivals were in full agreement on the topic of Conor McGregor.

Chatting to Michael Lansberg of TSN in Canada, the pair were asked what they made of the Irish star’s larger-than-life antics.

And both men gave Conor a big thumbs-up for helping raise the profile of the sport.

Johnson explained: “It sells. It’s good for the sport. You gotta have our bad boys and our good guys.

“He brings a lot of attention to the sport and we need that. We need that to make sure we keep the fans entertained and wanting to see us fight.

“Like I used to tell people when they used to ask about Tito Ortiz. I’m like you’re gonna pay to see the man fight because you want to see him either win, or you want to see him lose.

“He talks it and he backs it up. And Conor does the same thing. He’s working magic for the UFC.”

Cormier was in full agreement, and even likened ‘The Notorious’ Dubliner to one of the WWE’s biggest fan favourites of all time.

“He brings more eyes. I think he’s the anti-hero,” he began.

“He is Stone Cold Steve Austin from 2000. The guy that you’re supposed to kinda root against, but you want to root for.

“Everything that he does before would have gotten people to boo you. But it’s like they’ve taken to it.

“It’s something so different that what they’re used to seeing that people love it. I think it’s fine.”

It’s not the first time McGregor and Austin have been linked, with a comedy mash-up of clips from McGregor’s can-throwing antics at the UFC 202 press conference and Austin’s famous beer-drinking in-ring celebrations doing the rounds after the Dubliner’s dust-up with Nate Diaz before their epic rematch earlier this year.

Cormier and Johnson will do battle in Toronto at UFC 206, with Cormier’s UFC light-heavyweight title on the line.

And despite their rivalry at the top of the UFC’s 205lb division, the pair remained cordial as they shared some light-hearted jibes at each other’s expense as they discussed their rivalry,Jon Jones, the light-heavyweight division and how they’d get on if they went head-to-head on the American Football field.

Watch the full interview here: