Dana White: Conor McGregor losing to Floyd Mayweather won’t damage McGregor, UFC at all

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor is officially set for Aug. 26 in Las Vegas. The boxing superfight has been talked about for more than a year with many speculating that the bout was purely a promotional ploy from both fighters and would never be actually realized.

But with the bout now official, the discussions can turn from whether the fight will happen to whether it should be happening.

On a conference call held Wednesday evening, UFC president Dana White addressed the concerns among some onlookers that a dominant victory for Mayweather could adversely affect both the UFC and their biggest star.

“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.”

McGregor is the current UFC lightweight champion and former featherweight champion, but he has never competed in professional boxing. Mayweather is widely considered to be among the greatest boxers to ever live and boasts an impressive 49-0 record in the sport.

The prospect of an amateur boxer making his professional debut against arguably the best boxer of all time is cause for concern among many and oddsmakers are giving McGregor almost no chance in the bout, listing him as a +700 underdog to Mayweather, the -1100 favorite. And though White believes Mayweather’s perceived dominance will insulate McGregor from any fall out should he be dominated, White also insists that fans shouldn’t count McGregor out despite the disparity in skill.

“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?”

Fans will find out the answer to that question on Aug. 26 at T-Mobile Arena and live on Showtime pay-per-view.