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.

TOP STORIES

Settlement. Judge approves $ 375 million settlement in UFC antitrust lawsuit.

Champ-champ-champ. Ilia Topuria hopes to become first UFC triple champion.

BMF. Jorge Masvidal wants an eventual ‘BMF vs. BMF’ fight with Max Holloway.

Beef. Brendan Schaub and Nate Diaz ratchet up their unexpected feud.

Prospects. Ranking the top prospects from the most recent season of Contender Series.

VIDEO STEW

UFC Embedded, episode 2.

Campfire chats with Max Holloway.

Chael Sonnen being a pundit.

Alexander Volkanovski breaks down Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway.

FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Settlement.

Respect.

Book it.

He’s sees it slipping away.

But Sal D’Amato isn’t a referee.

Fight poster.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Muhammad Mokaev vs. Rogerio Bontarin (grappling match); ADXC 6, Oct. 25.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m not some big McGregor fan but there will never be another Conor McGregor in MMA. He was a perfect storm of events that simply cannot happen again in the same way. He’s once in a lifetime.

EXIT POLL

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