Dana White explains Conor McGregor's surreal star power at UFC 329 with Tom Brady and Michael Jordan comparison

Dana White has heaped praise on Conor McGregor ahead of the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion's long-awaited return to the octagon. 

White compared the Irishman's rare star power to that of American Football great Tom Brady and basketball legend Michael Jordan. 

McGregor is scheduled to rematch former UFC featherweight and BMF titlist Max Holloway in a welterweight matchup at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on July 11. "The Notorious" one bested Holloway by unanimous decision in their first encounter, which went down at featherweight back in 2013. 

Dana White lauds Conor McGregor for extraordinary business impact heading into UFC 329 fight against Max Holloway

During a UFC 329 Weigh-In interview with a UFC panel, Dana White was asked about the surreal atmosphere for the UFC 329 festivities. White responded by stating, "Yeah. It's incredible. Listen, this is the Conor McGregor effect." 

He further suggested that a soccer (football) team's owner was asked by his wife to attend UFC 329 for the fights. Apparently, the team owner, in a conversation with White, told the latter that it was tough to find a hotel room in Vegas.

The UFC boss thereby asserted that the city that hosts a McGregor fight experiences a mammoth boom in business. It's well-known that many combat sports fans from Ireland and the world over travel to watch McGregor live in action. 

The UFC CEO and president affirmed that a McGregor matchup raises the tide of not only fighting but many other businesses in the city, economically benefiting people from different walks of life. 

Juxtaposing the recent high-profile UFC Freedom 250 event from last month -- one that was hosted at the White House in Washington -- White indicated that McGregor's upcoming fight card is likely to outperform the White House card. Claiming that UFC 329 would break various records, he said: 

"Now it's looking like the social numbers will beat the White House, which is insane. And, obviously, the biggest gate in the history of the company. And the list goes on and on of the records that will be broken this weekend." 

Dana White compares Conor McGregor to NFL icon Tom Brady and NBA great Michael Jordan, feels he's facing an uphill task at UFC 329

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who was also a part of the panel, questioned Dana White about how Conor McGregor is still able to draw record-breaking numbers and massive audiences after five years away from MMA competition.

The UFC head honcho replied, "It's one of those things that you can't really gauge. You know, this guy is a superstar in sports the way that (Tom) Brady, and (Michael) Jordan, and guys like that are superstars." 

The veteran MMA promoter underscored that if McGregor manages to emerge victorious against Max Holloway at UFC 329, after what's been a five-year hiatus, it'd be the greatest comeback in MMA history. 

Furthermore, White pointed out that the deck is stacked against McGregor.

Many in the MMA community believe that McGregor being a multimillionaire entrepreneur, returning against a fearsome legend like Max Holloway who's been competing consistently, and coming off his gruesome leg injury from 2021 -- all signal that the probability of his winning seems rather low. 

Regardless, White opined that McGregor gladly welcomes challenges, and it'll be intriguing to see whether he's able to overcome the insurmountable odds and get his hand raised inside the octagon at UFC 329. 

The American entrepreneur also emphasized that McGregor has been one of the best business partners he's ever known, alongside former UFC owners, the Fertitta brothers. 

Watch Dana White praise Conor McGregor, likening him to other sports legends, below: