Dana White: Conor McGregor 'crazy' (in a good way) for wanting to fight Rafael dos Anjos

Conor McGregor had plenty of options for his next fight. That's a point he has made over and over.

According to Dana White, he didn't exactly take the path of least resistance when he chose to move up to lightweight and face champion Rafael dos Anjos.

"Conor wants to be a two-belt champion, so he wants to fight dos Anjos, which is crazy," the UFC president said on "Opie with Jim Norton" on Thursday. "If you look at that guy, look what he did to 'Cowboy' Cerrone, look what he did to Ben Henderson, look what he did to Anthony Pettis. And now Conor wants to fight this guy. It's gonna be awesome."

Dos Anjos (25-7) finished Donald Cerrone by TKO in just 66 seconds at UFC on FOX 17 last month. He wrecked shop against Pettis to win the lightweight belt at UFC 185 last March. The Brazilian also has a first-round knockout of former lightweight champ Benson Henderson on his résumé.

McGregor (19-2) won the UFC featherweight title from Jose Aldo via a 13-second knockout at UFC 194 last month. It was the quickest finish in UFC championship history. McGregor will look to set another record against dos Anjos. No other fighter in UFC history has held belts in two different weight classes at the same time.

The brash Irishman has done all these things after saying he would do them, too.

"It's not even about shit talk with this guy," White said. "His mental warfare game is better than anything I've ever seen in how he gets in guys' heads immediately. Very intelligent, calculated. Conor McGregor is a very interesting guy."

The fight between McGregor and dos Anjos is set for UFC 196 on March 5 in Las Vegas. Win or lose, McGregor will remain the featherweight champion. Once again, he will have options.

Frankie Edgar is the top contender at featherweight. Nate Diaz is looking for a fight, too. McGregor has even expressed interest in moving up and challenging for the welterweight belt. The list goes on and on.

"From flyweight to heavyweight, they all want to fight Conor McGregor," White said. "It's the money fight."