Dana White Once Renounced UFC’s Official Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter & Said “Conor McGregor Is the Pound-for-Pound Best Fighter in the World”

Published 07/27/2022, 10:45 AM EDT

UFC President Dana White claimed Conor McGregor as the pound-for-pound king over Demetrious Johnson in 2017. ‘The Notorious’ at the time became the first simultaneous UFC double champion, while Johnson was dominating the 125 lbs with seemingly effortless performances. However, the 52-year-old rated McGregor higher on his list while the entire media was backing Johnson.

White, in an interview with TMZ, White said, “The media claims he’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. I think Conor McGregor is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world; If you look at what that really means, what pound-for-pound means. Conor doesn’t give a sh**; He’ll fight anybody anywhere, anytime.”

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The longtime promoter was insisting ‘Mighty Mouse‘ face the then-bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw. However, the AMC Pankration standout was reluctant to leave his division.

Whereas, in the past year and a half of the interview, Conor McGregor fought Jose Aldo for the featherweight championship, Nate Diaz twice at welterweight, and Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight championship. Thus, according to White, McGregor was defining the term ‘pound-for-pound’ while the media was still rating the dominant flyweight king as the best fighter in the world.

Also, Johnson had recently released a statement against UFC President Dana White and the promotion about getting a lack of promotion as a champion.

What did Demetrious Johnson say before Dana White’s Conor McGregor claim?

‘Mighty Mouse’ had everything going right for him as a competitor in the flyweight division. However, on the business end, his PPV events were getting lowers numbers; Even UFC President Dana White addressed it in his TMZ interview.

All of Conor McGregor’s Fights Outside the Octagon

Thus, to improve the situation, the UFC honcho wanted Johnson to move up in division and face the 135 lbs champion at any cost. This made the flyweight king pressured. Johnson released a statement and noted, “Unfortunately, UFC’s mistreatment and bullying has finally forced me to speak out.”

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“… I feel like my values and character as a person and a fighter are being tarnished by an organization,” wrote Johnson.

Eventually, Johnson and UFC parted ways as a historic deal was made with ONE Championship, the Home of Martial Arts.

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What do you make of Dana White’s words about Conor McGregor and Demetrious Johnson? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Written by:

Deepak Kumar is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. His love for MMA comes from the chaos and violence the fight game brings to the table. A BJJ aspirant, Deepak began following the sport as a casual fan when Ronda Rousey was finishing her opponents in seconds.

Edited by:

Paras Pande

Dana White Once Renounced UFC’s Official Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter & Said “Conor McGregor Is the Pound-for-Pound Best Fighter in the World”

What did Demetrious Johnson say before Dana White’s Conor McGregor claim?

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