Dana White says Conor McGregor is his Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson

Though they’ve certainly butted heads a few times in the past, UFC President Dana White has never been short on compliments for former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor.

Speaking on Fox News this week, White showered Conor McGregor with some new praise, comparing the Irish MMA star to legendary boxers Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali.

“He’s my [Muhammad] Ali. He’s my [Mike] Tyson,” White said this week (transcript via MMANytt). “He burst onto the scene and I knew the minute I sat down and had dinner with him that this kid was going to be a star. I didn’t know if he’d be able to fight and I didn’t know if he’d be able to win a title, but I knew he was going to be a star.”

If White is feeling extra warm and fuzzy toward Conor McGregor right now, it’s understandable. McGregor is poised for a long-awaited return to the UFC’s Octagon, where he’ll take on undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in a bout that White is expecting to be a pay-per-view goldmine.

“We’re looking at two million pay-per-view buys,” White recently told TSN, dropping a prediction for the PPV sales of UFC 229, the card that Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov will be headlining.

UFC 229, which will go down in the UFC’s home city of Las Vegas, is scheduled for October 6.

What do you think of Dana White’s comments on Conor McGregor?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/22/2018.