Conor McGregor is one of the most polarizing figures, not in only mixed martial arts but perhaps also in the entirety of sports entertainment. You either love him or you hate him. However, it is hard to deny that the fighting Irishman is a talented fighter and deserves every bit of praise he gets.
This past week, McGregor may have just gotten the biggest piece of praise he has received throughout his long and illustrious career. UFC President Dana White believes that Conor McGregor should be ranked as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, as reported by MMA Fighting. He also went as far as to call out the various MMA publications that did not put McGregor at the top of their list especially after he recently became a two-division world champion.
McGregor dethroned then lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in UFC 205 to achieve this feat. In light of this, he then relinquished his featherweight title, which he won in a dominant performance against a Jose Aldo who was on a long undefeated streak.
"When you talk about the pound-for-pound, they don't have Conor McGregor as the pound-for-pound - the media does the ratings - when you talk about what pound-for-pound really means, how is it not Conor McGregor?," said White in an interview on the Michael Kay Show. "The guy was the [145] pound champion, [155] pound champion, and beat a guy at 170 [pounds]. That's what pound-for-pound really means."
Perhaps one of the only few blemishes on McGregor's MMA record is his loss against Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout. However, we must keep in mind that 170 pounds is well off of the fighting Irishman's original weight. He lost their first fight via submission; however, just a few months later, he was able to avenge his loss with yet another noteworthy performance.
While McGregor may have his qualms about the organization, it seems as though neither of them can let the other go. This is especially true for the UFC since a McGregor fight has been proven to bring a lot of people to their live events as well as purchasing pay-per-view subscriptions to watch his fights at home.