Conor McGregor will never be accepted as just 'one of the guys' because he has completely 'alienated himself from everybody' with his constant jabs and insults.
In a now-deleted tweet, the Irishman mocked fellow colleagues Anthony Smith and Belal Muhammad - who were on the analyst desk for UFC Fight Night 197 - by saying: "What the f--- is this? Get this off my telly NOW!"
The video was subsequently removed from social media but that wasn't enough to stop a backlash from the MMA community with many accusing McGregor of being too harsh in his criticism.
But Smith believes McGregor's recent outburst is nothing to do with him but instead because deep down he is very unhappy with himself despite being named the richest athlete in the world.
During an appearance on SiriusXM's Fight Nation, Smith said of McGregor: “This is the second time that Conor’s come at me.
“This one is not even my fault, and I don’t give a s--- what Conor thinks about me, but I don’t know why he’s taken aim at me twice.
"But as I thought about it, I think I figured it out.
"Conor’s been uber, uber successful. He’s made more money than he could ever spend. He’s made true, like, generational wealth.
"His kids’ kids’ kids’ kids are going to be just fine because of the things that Conor’s accomplished. What Conor can never get back, is he’ll never be one of us again – and it drives him absolutely crazy. He used to be – he used to be one of us.
“I found myself sitting at the desk wondering, like, does Conor miss what it felt like to be in the gym and just be one of the guys? Because he’s alienated himself from everybody.
"I’ve been around him a little bit. I don’t know him. But I’ve been around him and he was one of the guys.
"Then he kind of sold out and he starts taking shots at people and he kind of sold his soul for all that money. That’s fine if that’s what you want to do.”
The No4 ranked UFC light heavyweight insists McGregor's latest attempt to get under his skin is a sign he is feeling isolated from the rest of his peers.
The 33-year-old added: “I think sometimes, it’s less about him trying to get a headline, it’s less about him wanting to take shots at people and be that guy.
“I think that it eats him alive that he’s never going to be one of the guys again. He’ll never fit in in our group. He’s not one of our peers anymore.
"It’s not because we kicked him out and didn’t want him – it’s the total opposite. We wanted Conor to be one of us. He alienated all of us and now he wants back in and we’re not going to let him in because he s--- on every single one of us.
"It’s the comments he makes. That’s just his opportunity to try to – he wants the whole world to think that he’s the cool guy and we’re not, when in all reality, in our private situations and in our small world, he’s the outsider. He’s the one that no one’s letting back in.”
McGregor, 33, is currently recovering from the broken leg he suffered in his defeat to Dustin Poirier during their trilogy fight at UFC 264.
The former two-division champion is not expected to return until next year but will resume training in April.
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