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The Legendary First Meeting Between Conor McGregor And Dana White At UFC Sweden

The Legendary First Meeting Between Conor McGregor And Dana White At UFC Sweden

They first met in 2013 at a UFC event in Sweden.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Conor McGregor and UFC president Dana White's first meeting back in 2013 is the stuff of legends.

McGregor had just won his UFC debut in spectacular style by stopping Marcus Brimage in 67 seconds and the Irishman paid a visit to White.

They immediately embraced with the UFC boss welcoming him to the promotion before showering the MMA star with special praise.

"So, there's been a lot of hype. I guess the hype is real," White said to which a jubilant McGregor replied by saying "yeah" a few times.

McGregor, draped in an Irish flag, and White continued to talk about the fight before changing the subject to his next fight.

White, a Boston native, mapped out McGregor's future which included a fight in Boston and an Ireland homecoming - two things which eventually happened.

Image: Dana White
Image: Dana White

After defeating Brimage on his UFC debut in Sweden, McGregor returned to action by facing Max Holloway in Boston.

McGregor won the bout but suffered a serious knee injury which kept him out of action for 10 months, though he made his UFC comeback on home soil by headlining a massive card in Dublin.

And the rest is history.

McGregor took 15 months to return to action after his devastating submission defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018 as he destroyed Donald Cerrone.

He beat 'Cowboy' in just 40 seconds in their welterweight bout at UFC 246 in January.

The 31-year-old is in line to rematch Nurmagomedov if the unbeaten Russian defeats Tony Ferguson at UFC 249.

But McGregor has been linked with a bout against No.4 ranked lightweight Justin Gaethje, and the 155lb king believes the potential clash is a 50/50.

"Justin Gaethje and Conor, it's a hard question," Nurmagomedov explained.

"My opinion, I want Justin Gaethje, but I think (it's) 50/50. I think you guys think (it's) 50/50, too. Because it's going to be stand-up fight, Justin is good, Conor is good on the standup, and I think it's going to be 50/50.

"Justin Gaethje is one of the best lightweights in the world, of course," he added. "Anyone in the top of the lightweight division is going to be hard.

"You have to believe this. You have to believe you can become champion one day. If not, why do you train? I respect his mind, I respect how he thinks, and I respect he want to show his skill, and he want to challenge himself. You have to."

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Topics: Conor Mcgregor, UFC News, Fight News, UFC, MMA, Dana White

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Darren Till, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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