As concerns over UFC 303 begin to quell, Dana White has compared Conor McGregor’s ability to wage mental warfare to the legendary boxing champion.

A Conor McGregor fight month was always going to come with its fair share of dramatic and controversial moments, and that’s exactly what UFC fans have witnessed as press conference cancelations and cryptic messages dominate the headlines.

Concern over UFC 303 cancelation quells after a dramatic week

Despite there still being some concern in the MMA community that Conor McGregor could be out of his enormous PPV return at UFC 303, there have been some positive updates in the last 24 hours regarding the upcoming clash between ‘Notorious’ and Michael Chandler.

On Wednesday evening, veteran reporter Ariel Helwani stated on The MMA Hour that there is “great positivity” and “great optimism” that the event will go ahead as planned, with the T-Mobile Arena also sharing new promotional material for the event featuring the Irish superstar.

So, if the UFC 303 press conference wasn’t canceled because of a McGregor injury or health setback, could the entire debacle have simply just been a red herring to throw Michael Chandler off his game? If there’s one athlete who knows how to wage mental warfare, it’s the former double champion.

Dana White likens Conor McGregor to Muhammad Ali in one key area

Speaking via the latest episode of the Flagrant Podcast, UFC President Dana White said “Honestly, I don’t know” whether Conor McGregor was genuinely out partying into the early hours of the morning, only a few weeks out from his enormous return at UFC 303.

That being said, White did suggest that McGregor’s late-night partying videos could be just the latest form of Notorious’ iconic mental warfare game.

In fact, the UFC President acknowledged that when it comes to getting inside an opponent’s head, there is only one athlete who you can compare McGregor against… And that’s the legendary boxing champion, Muhammad Ali.

“I will tell you this, and I don’t like comparing people to Muhammad Ali because to me he’s the f***** [best], and f*** what he did in fighting; just as a human, what this guy accomplished – but he didn’t give a f*** what anybody said.

“Ali, Conor – both are level when it comes to mental warfare, the two best of all time when it comes to mental warfare.”

White explained how Ali mastered the art of mental warfare in his long-standing feuds with both George Foreman and Joe Frazier, stating how the comparison between Ali and McGregor goes further than just run-of-the-mill trash talk.

“He’d [Ali] turn up at his camp outside and f**** do all of this s***, he would predict rounds, he would come up with f**** incredible poems and sayings, things that he would do leading up to the fight.

“And then you look at Conor McGregor, he’s picked rounds, I mean the mental warfare that this guy had on so many of his fighters and he would make these guys play into his game, get into their heads and f**** embarrass them and outwit them in every way, shape and form.”

White pointed specifically to the UFC lightweight title fight with Eddie Alvarez as the peak of McGregor’s psychological attacks, noting how at that point, McGregor was “literally at Ali’s level when it comes to mental warfare.”

Yet negotiating with McGregor must come with its struggles, especially considering the sheer amount of leverage that ‘Notorious’ will likely hold over the UFC – as somewhat proven by the press conference cancelation earlier this week.

“At the end of the day, I’m at a place right now with like the Conor McGregor’s and the Jon Jones’ where they laid the foundation of their legacy and made a s*** load of money,” explained White.

“So, when these guys do show up and fight, it’s fun.”

UFC 303 is scheduled to go down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June 29, headlined by Conor McGregor making his long-awaited return to the octagon against Michael Chandler.