Dana White knows just how special Conor McGregor is, but believes another could be coming soon.
McGregor is the biggest star in the history of MMA, crossing over into the mainstream and broader public consciousness in a way that few other athletes have. But over the past several years — even before his catastrophic leg injury that’s kept him sidelined since 2021 — McGregor has increasingly moved away from fighting, pursuing his other business ventures and being very selective about his forays into the cage. As such, there are frequent conversations about who will be “the next Conor McGregor” to breakthrough to superstardom. But for Dana White, that’s easier said than done.
“The great thing about Conor, everybody thinks they’re Irish,” White told Outta Pocket with RGIII. “When you think about St. Paddy’s Day, all over the world, everybody thinks they’re Irish. The Irish thing is actually really powerful. And obviously his personality, his charisma, and he beat the guys he needed to beat to become successful.
“He’s like a unicorn. You’ll find a Conor McGregor every 10 or 15 years.”
There have been a number of big stars in the history of MMA, but none really compare to McGregor, who was part of seven of the 10 top grossing UFC Pay-Per-View events of all time, including the No. 1 — his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, which sold an estimated 2.4 million PPVs. McGregor also was one half of the second most lucrative PPV event of all time, his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather JR. in 2017 which sold an estimated 5.3 million buys.
But while McGregor set the stardom for MMA quite high, there’s also someone new to come along and challenge that. And White believes that person could be coming along in the near future as the UFC continues to build its base in Mexico.
“Mexico,” White said when asked where the next McGregor will come from. “I opened a Performance Institute down in Mexico and we’re already starting to crank talent out of there. Some of the baddest humans who have ever walked the face of the Earth have been Mexican. Very big fighting culture down there. So I think our next big star is going to come out of Mexico, like that level of star.”
The UFC has heavily invested in Mexico the past few years, both in building the Performance Institute and in repeated events in the country or celebrating it. Most notable of these events was UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas. Dubbed Noche UFC, the event was “a love letter to Mexico” and showed the history of the nation and its role in fight sport over the years.
As for McGregor, it’s still an open question whether he will ever return to the UFC. “Notorious” was scheduled to make his long-awaited return at UFC 303 this summer but withdrew due to injury. He’s now targeting a return in 2025 but nothing official has been announced.
They’ll be from wherever Dana and the marketing department decide they’ll be from
You mean “McGregor level over-hyped poster boy”?
Oh, cool…
De La Dana Viva
Like Cain was from Mexico??
Canore Magregorez?
He already has his own tequila and rape yacht
Lets not forget the outstanding fighters that hail from Brazil either
They pumped conor up and he peaked for like a couple fights. You need the guy you’re pumping up to peak at right time but he doesn’t need to stay there long to make lots of money.
Talentwise there have been 50-100 guys at mcgregors level in MMA.
So its just putting the marketing machine behind one and going all in.
I think he meant Unicornio
Yeah they tried with Patty but he was a failed experiment.
Patty just isn’t that good. He doesn’t pass the eye test, imo. The man also has the persona of a goober. That doesn’t translate to $$$, imo.
Alex Pereira has come as close as you can without being able to speak english.
It’s also about getting the right match-ups that make a title fight seem legitimate.
Jorge Masvidal is another great example. Went from career journeyman to millionaire based on an “amazing” three-fight win-streak.
Not to mention Nate Diaz who was going nowhere until he “randomly” called out McGregor for a fight.
Same with O’Malley.
The thing with Conor was he was fighting like 4 times a year during his peak.
One fight every 6-10 months doesn’t result in true superstars. They need to constantly be seen.
Pereira is another one who has blown up quickly thanks to activity (though not as big as Conor due to no English).
And Conor and the UFC really struck gold with the quick ko of Aldo to legitimize his status. If Aldo beat him I dunno if he becomes a megastar.
What is this fetish with Mexico lately? Cane, Moreno, and Yair are some of the only elite level fighters to ever come out of there.
I think they pumped conor harder than those guys. I think Lorenzo believed in him for whatever reason and pushed for higher investment in marketing around him… And hes obviously not around anymore and good chance that might be the difference. Different strategies a bit now.