Conor McGregor has criticised WWE Superstars in the recent past - but has praised CM Punk for stepping into the UFC octagon.
However, the Irishman told TMZ that he respects former WWE performer Punk, despite the 37-year-old "getting his ass whooped" and submitting in just 134 seconds in his MMA debut against Mickey Gall on Saturday night.
"I tell you what - fair play to him, 'cos he got in there and fought, and not a lot of people do, said McGregor. "Not a lot of people have the balls to make that walk.
"He got his ass whooped. God bless him he got his ass whooped! But he got in there and fought, so fair play to him. Respect."
UFC women's straw-weight star Paige van Zant feels that Punk may be too old to fashion a successful career in mixed martial arts - but is refusing to write him off just yet.
"He's pretty old," she said. "I love CM Punk. I wanted him to do well. I think he's just a little too old for it.
"He came out there a little bit too aggressive and confident. You just can't teach jiu jitsu in two years."
"He definitely has a chance - he definitely does. There's a lot of other people out there that I think he would definitely do a lot better against
"Somebody maybe that doesn't have such a high level jiu jitsu background. So I would love to see him fight again. He's definitely persistent and he's still an athlete.
"He needs to work on his jiu jitsu! It's gonna take a while, but he can do it."