UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather had a series of heated exchanges during their time on the four city world tour.
According to UFC President Dana White, neither McGregor or Mayweather took things too far during the tour.
“I think they've both had their moments, they’ve both had their moments,” White said during the Showtime broadcast from London. “It’s funny when people say they’ve taken this thing [too far]. These guys are gonna try to knock each other unconscious in about a month and a half. The verbal warfare is a part of the fight, too. But this is a fight — not a croquette game. This part of the deal.”
Perhaps the most controversial statements of the tour came from both fighters, as McGregor seemingly mocked black people and Mayweather used a homophobic slur against the Irishman.
White also knows the verbal back and forth between the fighters is just as crucial as the upcoming fight.
“The reality is what’s going on here is just as much of the fight as the fight itself,” White said. “The mental warfare game, these are two of the best ever to do. Floyd has yet to meet his match physically or verbally. What this is all about is trying to get in each other’s heads and that’s why you’ve seen this thing escalate to Los Angeles to where we are now.”
Conor McGregor versus Floyd Mayweather takes place on Saturday, August 26 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
