Former WWE superstar turned Hall of Famer Mark Henry has slammed Conor McGregor despite the Irishman’s stunning return to UFC.

At the weekend, McGregor returned to the Octagon to go toe-to-toe with the bound to be Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone; the fighter with the most wins in UFC history, though, was disposed of in double-quick time.

Returning to the sport heavier than he has ever been before in his career, McGregor started with some velocity and had ‘Cowboy’ rocked in the opening six seconds.

A plethora of unconventional shoulder shots and a kick to the face later, the bout was stopped, with Notorious reigning victorious after over a year out.

Everyone and anyone from the fighting world was utterly impressed by his performance. Everyone, it would seem, except the ‘World’s Strongest Man’ whose recent comments look to tarnish the Irishman amid his comeback.

The comments emerged on an episode of Henry’s podcast named Busted Open Radio. In the episode, the former wrestler begins a discussion on the idea of villains and antagonists in the world of WWE with his co-host Jonathan Hood.

In the discussion, Henry compared the likeness of anti-hero characters in the world of MMA. He used McGregor as his case study, claiming that he loves to ‘play the heel’ in the lead up to his fights – meaning he likes to be the bad guy.

Hood, though, was quick to point out that McGregor’s demeanour had changed for his recent fight with Cerrone (the Irishman was not his usual controversial self) which sent Henry into a frenzy about McGregor’s brand.

“Conor McGregor is on quality control. He’s got people around him going ‘Hey, don’t go out there and make a spectacle of yourself.’ Don’t bring that Conor McGregor machismo to the stage because you will be judged,” started Henry, alluding to the UFC superstar's troubles in the past year.

“Conor McGregor is just like The Usos right now. They’ve had trouble. They’ve done things that they’re not proud of. Speaking for themselves. I don’t know if Conor gives a damn, I think that he’s more worried about his business failing; and people getting off the Conor McGregor bandwagon.”

Then, McGregor’s old comments about the UFC surfaced to discussion.

Back in 2016, McGregor took to Twitter and claimed that he would “slap the head off” of the entire WWE roster... twice on a Sunday.

“He’s not been a wrestling fan,” Henry said. “He said things that was completely out of line.

"I’m gonna tell you what. At that time, I was actually in the locker room. I welcome any 140 pounds or less guy on the planet to come and slap my face. I will tear your skin off. I will hang your skin in my closet. There’s 50 guys in that WWE locker room that will hand him his ass. Just so you all know.

"So don’t think for one second that a 140 pound dude is going to go in there and survive against Braun Strowman. I would say that that Chad Gable would rake him over the coals. Chad Gable will have him screaming for his mummy.”

The comments come after boxer Tyson Fury made a crossover from the boxing ring to the WWE ring. Could we see another?