UFC president Dana White has laid out the path Conor McGregor needs to take if the Irishman is to become the biggest superstar in sports.
All McGregor needs to do is beat legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather when the two compete in a boxing rules contest on Saturday, August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“If Conor McGregor wins he’s the biggest athlete on Earth,” hailed White when the fight was announced this week.
Mayweather is unbeaten in 49 professional fights and is the clear bookmakers’ favourite to trump McGregor later this summer.
Despite McGregor’s pedigree inside the Octagon, he has never boxed professionally before and is therefore making his debut.
Regardless, White still expects a Mayweather v McGregor event to break all fight records as his client brings an abundance of publicity.
How the MMA world warmed to McGregor
"You know why Conor McGregor is a part of fights like this? You know why Conor McGregor sells pay-per-view shows? You know why he's the biggest star in mixed martial arts? Because he'll fight anybody, anywhere, anytime," White said.
"McGregor does not turn down opponents and he's now going to fight arguably the best boxer of all time. That's why people love this kid."
Concluding, he said: "I think this will be the biggest pay-per-view event ever, globally."