White: McGregor best I ever met at mental warfare
Daan White: “He is the greatest mental warfare fighter I have ever met. Ever. The best. He doesn’t just f@$% with the guys he’s going to fight. He f@$%s with everybody.”
UFC president Dana White spoke recently with Kevin Iole for Yahoo Sports, and said that when it comes to playing head games with opponents, interim champion Conor McGregor is the best he has ever seen.
It’s too early to tell if Conor is one of the greatest fighters ever, though we’re getting close [to being able to tell], said White. A win over Jose Aldo would get him going in the right direction, obviously. But I can tell you this, without reservation: He is the greatest mental warfare fighter I have ever met. Ever. The best.
He doesn’t just f— with the guys he’s going to fight. He f—s with everybody.
He’ll talk about how fast everyone is at 145 pounds and these guys are stuck in the mud [at lightweight] and all of a sudden, those guys start thinking, ‘What the f—? Am I slow? Can I hang with this guy?’ And that’s just the beginning. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone better at mental warfare than him.
I know it’s sacrilege to compare anybody to Muhammad Ali in anything in the fight business. You don’t ever want to be comparing people to Muhammad Ali, but he’s the only one who comes to mind when it comes to the mental warfare that Conor wages.
But think about it: When you think of the mental game, and the fight that comes before the fight, you think of Conor McGregor and Muhammad Ali.
McGregor agrees!
There is no persona; there is no act, McGregor said. I’m going in, telling my opponent what I’m going to do and how I’m going to do it. I’m assessing and dissecting their game, their life, their mental approach. I’m dissecting everything. That’s it. It’s no persona, it’s no nothing. People ask questions. I’m simply running with it.
Conor McGregor fights UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 194 on December 12. If McGregor loses, the hardcore fanbase will shout “TOLJA” in unison. If Conor McGregor wins, defeating arguably the pound for pound best fighter in the sport, then he becomes the Muhammad Ali of mixed martial arts.
