Dana White not worried about McGregor’s starpower dropping with potential Mayweather loss

With news of the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight being finalized this week, many fight fans have questioned what a loss to Mayweather would mean for McGregor’s career at this time.

While UFC President Dana White revealed that McGregor will likely “turn right around” and defend the UFC lightweight title by the end of the year, he is also confident that a loss to Mayweather doesn’t damage the Irish superstar’s star power.

He spoke on a conference call Wednesday, saying:

“Absolutely not,” White said. “At the end of the day, these two guys wanted this fight, the fans wanted this fight, and 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 is one of the many reasons that people love Conor McGregor and win, lose or draw it will be one of the reasons that people continue to love Conor McGregor.”

“Listen, is he at the level of a Floyd Mayweather as far as boxing standards go?” White said. “No, but the kid, first of all, is a southpaw and people can argue one way or the other but Floyd, traditionally, if you want to say there’s ever been a kink in the armor with that kid, it’s with southpaws. And Conor McGregor is an absolute knockout artist. When he hits you, you go. So it’s part of the fun of this fight, is Conor McGregor, in a 12-round fight, gonna be able to touch Floyd Mayweather?”

on 6/15/2017.