UFC champ Dricus Du Plessis heaps praise on Conor McGregor: ‘Every single fighter needs to thank him’

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis credits Conor McGregor for transcending the sport of MMA.

Former UFC dual champion McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) holds numerous pay-per-view records, stepped into the ring with undefeated Floyd Mayweather, and recently made his acting debut in the remake of “Road House,” in which he starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal.

Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who’s become a hero in his country of South Africa, had nothing but nice things to say about McGregor.

“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.”

Du Plessis said he briefly met McGregor a couple of times. He understands why the public’s perception of him may not be the best, but his personal experiences with “The Notorious” have been good ones.

“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.”

McGregor returns from an almost three-year layoff in a welterweight bout against Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC), which headlines UFC 303 June 29 in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

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