Daniel Cormier praises Conor McGregor for elevating Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier to stardom

Daniel Cormier lauds Conor McGregor for turning his rivals into stars.

As the 10-year anniversary of McGregor’s UFC debut approaches, Cormier reflected on what “The Notorious” has done in the sport, pointing to the record-setting numbers he’s drawn as a star.

But Cormier also acknowledged the positive impact McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) has had on his opposition – mainly after suffering losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier.

“He has elevated two of my best friends,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “Two of the guys that I love, that I appreciate in this sport more than anyone. He has elevated Khabib to a megastar, and he has elevated Dustin Poirier to a level of stardom that Dustin never could’ve imagined getting before. So not only does he help himself, he helps the guys that he shares the octagon with – especially the ones that can beat him.”

Cormier’s favorite McGregor moment was his 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in December 2015, which won him the featherweight title. It was that moment that Cormier thinks changed McGregor’s life.

“In the Aldo fight, for all we knew about Jose Aldo, the greatness, how annoyed he was with Conor McGregor – we thought he was going to punish the brash Irishman,” Cormier said. “And then he knocked him out in 14 (13) seconds and the world was turned on its’ access, and the world really became his in that night. On that night, it was Conor McGregor’s world.”

McGregor is expected to make his highly anticipated return to the octagon later in the year when he takes on Michael Chandler, who he recently spent eight weeks with coaching the “Ultimate Fighter 31.”