UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis has acknowledged Conor McGregor's significant impact on mixed martial arts, stating that the Irish superstar transcended the sport itself. Du Plessis noted that while people often say no individual can be bigger than their sport, McGregor proved that notion wrong. The South African champion expressed that McGregor definitively made a major contribution to MMA's growth and popularity. This comment reflects widespread recognition within the fighting community of McGregor's role in bringing mainstream attention to the sport. The statement was brief but emphatic in crediting McGregor's influence on MMA's development and global reach.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis has spoken out in praise of Conor McGregor, crediting the Irish star with transcending the sport of mixed martial arts and driving its global growth in a way few athletes in any discipline ever have.
Du Plessis, who holds a 23-3-0 record and currently sits at number seven in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, pushed back on the common belief that no individual can be bigger than their sport. In his view, McGregor proved that notion decisively wrong. The 32-year-old South African, who fights out of Team CIT at six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach, has established himself as one of the most dangerous middleweights on the roster, landing 5.18 significant strikes per minute at 48 percent accuracy while also averaging 2.22 takedowns per fifteen minutes.
McGregor, 37, carries a career record of 22-6-0 and built his reputation fighting out of SBG Ireland as a southpaw striker. Standing five-foot-nine with a 74-inch reach, he produced some of the most memorable moments in UFC history and was consistently among the sport's most prolific strikers, averaging 5.32 significant strikes per minute at 49 percent accuracy across his career.
Why it matters
- Du Plessis is one of the sport's current standard-bearers offering an unsolicited acknowledgment of McGregor's broader legacy
- The comments reflect a generational conversation within MMA about which fighters moved the needle beyond the hardcore fanbase
- Recognition from a reigning champion adds weight to how McGregor's influence is still being felt inside the fight community
