Dana White is not concerned with Conor McGregor partying ahead of his expected return at UFC 303.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) meets Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in the June 29 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, several factors have had many skeptical if McGregor will actually make the walk later this month.
The UFC announced that it had “postponed” the UFC 303 pre-fight press conference featuring McGregor and Chandler about 12 hours before it was set to take place Monday in Dublin. “The Notorious” has also been spotted multiple times in bars, but the UFC CEO thinks the partying could be a ploy from McGregor’s end.
“I don’t know,” White said on the FLAGRANT podcast when asked if McGregor’s partying is a marketing strategy. “I honestly don’t know. He opened a bar out there: The Black Forge. I will tell you this, and I don’t ever like to compare people to Muhammad Ali because to me, he’s the f*cking (greatest) – and f*cking what he did in fighting, just as a human, what that guy accomplished, right?
“But I don’t give a f*ck what anybody says, Ali, Conor, both level when it comes to mental warfare: the two best of all time when it comes to mental warfare.”
White compared McGregor’s antics to legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, praising their ability to get into their opponents’ heads.
“If you look back at Ali and you look at what he did to George Foreman in Africa, you look at what he did to Joe Frazier, I mean throughout his entire f*cking career,” White said. “Joe Frazier f*cking hated Muhammad Ali so f*cking badly. He’d show up at his camp outside and f*cking do all this sh*t. He would predict rounds. He would come up with f*cking incredible poems and sayings and things that he would do leading up to the fight.
“Then, you look at Conor McGregor, he’s picked rounds. I mean, the mental warfare that this guy had on so many of his fighters. And he would make these guys play into his game, get into their heads, f*cking embarrass them, and outwit them in every way, shape and form. The Eddie Alvarez fight going into Madison Square Garden – he is literally at Ali’s level when it came to mental warfare.”
As for McGregor seemingly partying just weeks before his return, White says he’s experienced the same with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones in the past.
“I’m at a place right now with the Conor McGregors and the Jon Jones, where, you know, they’ve sort of laid the foundation of their legacy and what they have, and they’ve made a sh*tload of money,” White said. “And it’s at the point now where when these guys do show up and fight, it’s fun. It’s fun when they show up and fight.”
In his most recent update, McGregor posted a photo at the doctor’s office with a smile on his face, leading many to believe that he may have suffered an injury.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
