Morning Report: Dana White believes the subsequent Conor McGregor-level ‘unicorn’ will probably be from Mexico

Dana White is aware of simply how particular Conor McGregor is, however believes one other might be coming quickly.

McGregor is the most important star within the historical past of MMA, crossing over into the mainstream and broader public consciousness in a manner that few different athletes have. However over the previous a number of years — even earlier than his catastrophic leg harm that’s saved him sidelined since 2021 — McGregor has more and more moved away from combating, pursuing his different enterprise ventures and being very selective about his forays into the cage. As such, there are frequent conversations about who will probably be “the subsequent Conor McGregor” to breakthrough to superstardom. However for Dana White, that’s simpler stated than carried out.

“The beauty of Conor, everyone thinks they’re Irish,” White advised Outta Pocket with RGIII. “When you consider St. Paddy’s Day, all around the world, everyone thinks they’re Irish. The Irish factor is definitely actually highly effective. And clearly his character, his charisma, and he beat the blokes he wanted to beat to turn into profitable.

“He’s like a unicorn. You’ll discover a Conor McGregor each 10 or 15 years.”

There have been a lot of massive stars within the historical past of MMA, however none actually evaluate to McGregor, who was a part of seven of the ten prime grossing UFC Pay-Per-View occasions of all time, together with the No. 1 — his combat with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, which bought an estimated 2.4 million PPVs. McGregor additionally was one half of the second most profitable PPV occasion of all time, his boxing match in opposition to Floyd Mayweather JR. in 2017 which bought an estimated 5.3 million buys.

However whereas McGregor set the stardom for MMA fairly excessive, there’s additionally somebody new to come back alongside and problem that. And White believes that particular person might be coming alongside within the close to future because the UFC continues to construct its base in Mexico.

“Mexico,” White stated when requested the place the subsequent McGregor will come from. “I opened a Efficiency Institute down in Mexico and we’re already beginning to crank expertise out of there. A few of the baddest people who’ve ever walked the face of the Earth have been Mexican. Very massive combating tradition down there. So I believe our subsequent massive star goes to come back out of Mexico, like that degree of star.”

The UFC has closely invested in Mexico the previous few years, each in constructing the Efficiency Institute and in repeated occasions within the nation or celebrating it. Most notable of those occasions was UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas. Dubbed Noche UFC, the occasion was “a love letter to Mexico” and confirmed the historical past of the nation and its function in combat sport over time.

As for McGregor, it’s nonetheless an open query whether or not he’ll ever return to the UFC. “Infamous” was scheduled to make his long-awaited return at UFC 303 this summer time however withdrew because of harm. He’s now focusing on a return in 2025 however nothing official has been introduced.

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FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR

Settlement.

Respect.

Ebook it.

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Battle poster.

Muhammad Mokaev vs. Rogerio Bontarin (grappling match); ADXC 6, Oct. 25.

I’m not some massive McGregor fan however there’ll by no means be one other Conor McGregor in MMA. He was an ideal storm of occasions that merely can’t occur once more in the identical manner. He’s as soon as in a lifetime.

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