Dricus du Plessis says “every single fighter needs to thank” Conor McGregor for raise in pay
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis may not be the biggest name in combat sports, but he most certainly just found his way as a friend of someone who is.
The South African champion in the UFC’s 185-pound division is crediting former two-division champion Conor McGregor for elevating the sport of mixed martial arts.
“I mean, that guy, everything he touches, he’s such a legend in this sport,” Du Plessis said on “The Sias du Plessis Show.” “What he’s done for the sport, he’s transformed it into such a mainstream sport.”
“I can understand disliking the persona but knowing – I don’t know him personally but meeting him, different person,” Du Plessis said. “And even if you don’t like him, you can’t ever, ever discredit what he’s done for this sport because every single fighter needs to thank him, in my opinion, for the raise in pay, the raise in awareness of this sport because I think Conor McGregor might be one of the most famous people on earth.”
An argument can be made that McGregor really did boost the financial status of not only the UFC and its fighters, but the sports of MMA overall. From starring in movies, commercials, promoting beer and whiskey lines, and competing in some of the highest-grossing fights in combat sports history, McGregor is one of the world’s most famous people.
The Irishman returns to the octagon this summer against Michael Chandler in the UFC 303 headliner on June 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
