White: A McGregor loss doesn’t diminish his brand, or the UFC’s
Dana White: “I don’t think it damages the brand or Conor McGregor at all. I think it actually elevates Conor McGregor.”
Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather is likely to be the biggest event in combat sports history. There are different things of stake, with different levels of importance.
The man with the most to lose is Floyd Mayweather. He has tied Rocky Marciano’s cursed 49-0 record. If he loses, he is no longer undefeated.
The man with the least to lose is Conor McGregor. He is boxing the greatest defensive boxer in history, and will make more than 50 millions dollars, perhaps ten times more than anyone has made in MMA.
But if Mayweather wins effortlessly, in minutes, will it make mixed martial arts and the UFC look bad?
Absolutely not,” said White, as transcribed by Tristen Critchfield for Sherdog. “At the end of the day these two guys wanted this fight. The fans wanted this fight. Conor is a mixed martial artist going into a boxing match with arguably the greatest boxer of all time. I don’t think it damages the brand or Conor McGregor at all. I think it actually elevates Conor McGregor. The fact that this kid who has so much to lose is willing to step in and is absolutely confident that he will win this fight. I think it’s one of the many reasons that people love Conor McGregor. Win lose or draw it will be one of the reasons that people continue to love Conor McGregor.
Is he at the level of a Floyd Mayweather as far as boxing standards go? No. But the kid is a southpaw…If there’s ever been a kink in the armor with [Mayweather], that’s been with southpaws. Conor is an absolute knockout artist. When he hits you, you go. That’s part of the fun of this fight: Is Conor McGregor in a 12-round fight going to be able to touch Floyd Mayweather?