Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White says Conor McGregor is a mainstream star not just because of his antics.
McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov will finally take place this Saturday night (Oct. 6) in the main event of UFC 229.The lightweight title will be defended by Nurmagomedov inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’ll be McGregor’s first mixed martial arts bout since Nov. 2016.
Dana White Credits Conor McGregor’s Superstardom To Being A Real Fighter
White recently spoke to UFC color commentator Dan Hardy on RT Sport. White gave his theory on why McGregor has become a superstar around the world (via Bloody Elbow):
“Everybody always talks smack that I kiss Conor’s ass and all this other stuff and Conor would completely disagree with that, I think. Why do you think he’s such a big star? You think he’s such a big star because he’s funny? Yeah, that’s part of it. You think he’s such a big star because he speaks so well? Absolutely part of it. And you just keep going down the line of all these things that make him a star, but number one, first and foremost, the reason he is a global superstar and people love this guy because he’s a real fighter. I’m the guy that makes the phone calls and here are people going ‘Yeah, I’m not gonna take that fight’ or ‘I’m not gonna do this’ or ‘I’m not gonna do that.’ Never has Conor McGregor said that.”
Today, a public UFC 229 press conference will be held. McGregor, Nurmagomedov, and White will be part of the presser inside the Park Theater. The press conference will begin at 6 p.m. ET. MMA News will provide a live stream of the presser, so keep it locked on the homepage.
Do you agree with Dana White’s theory on how Conor McGregor’s popularity exploded?
