Former WWE and UFC star, Ken Shamrock believes Conor McGregor would have a hard time switching from MMA to pro wrestling.

Having just crossed over to one sport in boxing after his loss to Floyd Mayweather back in August, the Irishman is now expected to return to the octagon and defend his lightweight title next.

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However, McGregor has long been linked with a possible move to the WWE where many see it as the perfect place for him, given his trash-talking skills and charisma.

Stephanie McMahon, one of the WWE's principal owners and chief brand officer, recently described McGregor as a "perfect fit" for the world of professional wrestling back in October.

There were also rumours that the "Notorious" was in talks over a one-off match against one of WWE's biggest names according to The Irish Sun.

Shamrock, however, who is one of the few to have done both MMA and professional wrestling, believes McGregor would have a tough time making the switch over to sports entertainment.

"Conor McGregor would, I believe, have a really tough time trying to transfer over from the combat sport into the entertainment sport," Shamrock told BloodyElbow.com. "Not to say he can't; it's possible for anybody.

"Just because he's a lighter weight, he would have to have a whole lot of different types of moves in order for it to make sense for him to get in there and be able to wrestle the bigger guys."

It's not only the size that is the issue but all the nuances that go into professional wrestling such as ring psychology and making sure one is a safe worker.

"Could you imagine somebody trying to go from a sporting event into an entertainment event, and have to deal with all the psychology: putting matches together, learning how not to rip somebody's arm off, learning how not to really punch somebody, setting up matches, making it make sense, cutting a promo — which he already knows how to do," Shamrock explained.

"There's a whole lot there. Really, really difficult to do."

Instead, Shamrock says the 29-year-old should be protected if he is to set foot in the ring — by not having a match straight away but slowly setting up for one while he gets prepared.

"Protect him in that sense, without going out and having an actual match, and get him primed for it, I think he might have a chance," Shamrock added.

"But just to walk right in the ring and just start doing matches, it would kill him. He wouldn't be the dominating thing that everybody's used to seeing."