Conor McGregor has 'lost some of his ability,' UFC legend Georges St. Pierre says

• Conor McGregor's skillset may well have deteriorated in recent years.
• That's according to Georges St. Pierre, a UFC legend considered one of the greatest of all time.
• St. Pierre says McGregor should fight Nate Diaz if he is determined to return to the UFC.

Conor McGregor "has lost some of his ability," needs time to find himself once again, and should refrain from immediately fighting Dustin Poirier for a fourth time as the American has his number.

That's according to the UFC legend Georges St. Pierre, who told MMA Fighting last week that McGregor's management should look at alternative opponents for the Irishman when he eventually returns to mixed martial arts.

McGregor, 32, has suffered back-to-back losses to Poirier in 2021, and is now 2-1 down in their three-fight rivalry having once beaten the American Top Team fighter at featherweight in 2014.

Poirier knocked McGregor unconscious on Fight Island earlier this year, and won via doctor's stoppage in July when McGregor could not continue the contest after suffering a combined fracture of his tibia and fibula at the end of the first round.

The UFC boss Dana White speculated that McGregor could be out of action for an entire year.

However, the fighter himself may be hoping to return to the Octagon sooner, after telling fans this week that his recovery program is three weeks ahead of schedule.

There is already credible speculation that a fourth fight between the two lightweights could materialize, but St. Pierre believes McGregor should try to rebound against somebody else.

"If I'm Conor McGregor - or maybe not Conor because he's a very proud fighter - if I'm his manager, I don't want my client to come back to fight the same guy again for the fourth time," St-Pierre told MMA Fighting.

"Because now it seems like Dustin has his number - he needs to perhaps take another fight."

St. Pierre suggested that another of McGregor's long-time and ongoing rivals, Nate Diaz, would represent a good, winnable, challenge for his comeback.

McGregor should return against Diaz, St. Pierre said

Diaz made McGregor tap to a rear-naked choke at UFC 196 in March 2016, but lost a rematch five months later by majority decision as McGregor rebounded.

Since the two-fight series against McGregor, Diaz defeated Anthony Pettis thanks to a stupendous performance in 2019, but then lost to Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards.

He, too, is in desperate need of a win.

"He should come back and maybe fight Nate Diaz or someone that has a different style than Dustin Poirier, because styles make fights and I have the feeling that Dustin Poirier probably has his number right now," said St. Pierre.

McGregor remains the most marquee name in all of combat sports, despite a succession of heavy losses.

He has not recorded back-to-back wins since 2016, when he followed his revenge victory over Diaz with a second-round knockout over Eddie Alvarez - sealing two-weight champion status.

In those five years, his skillset has deteriorated, St. Pierre said.

"He needs to get back in there to spend more time in the octagon in order to find his own self, the way he moves and his abilities.

"It seems like he might have lost some of his ability due to his inactivity."