Conor McGregor has never been a bigger star than he is right now. So why would UFC president Dana White allow the biggest draw on his roster to step outside of mixed martial arts to box one of the greatest pugilists of all time?
White said that he is willing to let his fighter step into a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather because McGregor is a unicorn with a life changing opportunity before him.
“It’s a fight that people do want to see. It’s intriguing and obviously it’s a fight that Conor wants because financially it’s going to be massive for him,” White said during Wednesday’s edition of The Herd on FS1.
“McGregor, he’s a guy that I have a lot of respect for. This guy has stepped up at times when people were at his level would never step up. I’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it again: I’m the guy standing in the living room, I’m the guy on the phone when these guys are looking down the barrel of a new opponent a week before the fight, and Conor McGregor doesn’t flinch,” White continued.
“This kid steps up. He’ll fight anybody, anywhere, anytime. A lot of people say it, very few really mean it. Conor McGregor, I call him the unicorn. I’ve never dealt with a kid like this.”
Of course, with McGregor under contract, the UFC will want to be involved from a business aspect as well, so it’s not like this is all for McGregor. White insists, though, that this is an opportunity that may never come again, and he’s willing to let McGregor test himself in a way that no other UFC champion ever has.
“For him to have this kind of opportunity, to make this kind of money, this type of a fight that people are so interested in worldwide, I almost feel like I have to make it.”
(Video courtesy of Colin Cowherd | Viewing may be limited by broadcast rights restrictions)