Conor McGregor shares no less than one trait with “The Biggest,” in response to Dana White.
The UFC CEO was a visitor on the Flagrant podcast the place he lined a lot of subjects, together with questions on McGregor’s outside-the-cage conduct. McGregor was just lately seen partying exhausting forward of his comeback battle towards Michel Chandler, which is scheduled for UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas, and White was requested if he’s involved about McGregor’s focus and stage of preparation.
Whereas White couldn’t converse to McGregor’s precise psychological state (it must be famous this podcast was recorded previous to McGregor just lately canceling a press convention look in Dublin, Eire), he believes there’s an opportunity that everybody is seeing what McGregor desires them to see. White went so far as to say that the UFC star’s antics reminded him of one of the widespread athletes in historical past, boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
“I’ll inform you this and I don’t ever like to check individuals to Muhammad Ali as a result of to me he’s the f*cking, , and f*ck what he did in combating, simply as a human, what that man achieved,” White mentioned. “However I don’t give a f*ck what anyone says: Ali, Conor, each stage in terms of psychological warfare. The 2 better of all time in terms of psychological warfare.”
Throughout McGregor’s rise as a two-division UFC champion and world supetstar, he developed a status for delivering on the mic as a lot as he did on battle night time. Memorable wins over Jose Aldo, Eddie Alvarez, and Nate Diaz had been preceded by a number of the most talked-about pre-fight builds in MMA historical past, which led to monumental success for McGregor and the UFC.
Ali is extensively hailed as top-of-the-line and most revered heavyweight boxers ever, and his virtuoso promo and interview type was the precursor to how McGregor and plenty of fashionable fighters construct their feuds in the present day. In White’s eyes, the 2 fight sports activities stars are on the identical stage in terms of getting inside their opponents’ heads.
“In the event you look again at Ali and also you take a look at what he did to George Foreman in Africa, you take a look at what he did to Joe Frazier, I imply, all through his whole f*cking profession,” White mentioned. “Joe Frazier f*cking hated Muhammad Ali so f*cking badly. He’d present up at his camp exterior and f*cking do all this shit, he would predict rounds, he would give you f*cking unbelievable poems and sayings and issues that he would do main as much as the battle.
“Then you definately take a look at Conor McGregor. He’s picked rounds. The psychological warfare that this man had on so lots of his fighters. One hundred percent [McGregor got in Jose Aldo’s head], and he would make these guys play into his sport, get into their heads, f*cking embarrass them, and outwit them in each method, form, and kind. The Eddie Alvarez battle going into Madison Sq. Backyard. He’s actually at Ali’s stage when it got here to psychological warfare.”
McGregor can also be well-known for his wild way of life, which has led to authorized repercussions in addition to questions on his dedication to combating. Since beating Alvarez at UFC 205 in 2016 to change into a two-division champion, McGregor has competed simply 4 instances in MMA together with one high-profile crossover boxing match towards Floyd Mayweather Jr.. These outings in the end yielded only one victory.
Because it stands, White is treating any in-cage look from McGregor as a luxurious.
“I’m in a spot proper now with the Conor McGregors and the Jon Jones’ the place they’ve kind of laid the muse of their legacy and what they’ve they usually’ve made a shitload of cash,” White mentioned. “It’s on the level now the place when these guys do present up and battle, it’s enjoyable. It’s enjoyable after they present up and battle.”
