In a bit of a surprise, Conor McGregor features on Bas Rutten’s mixed martial arts Mount Rushmore.
UFC president Dana White was recently asked about his own Mount Rushmore and went with the likes of Royce Gracie, Amanda Nunes, Jon Jones and Chuck Liddell.
And when the question was posed to former UFC heavyweight champion Rutten, the Dutchman had some interesting picks. He too, included Gracie along White himself. It then came down between Liddell and Fedor Emelianenko for Rutten’s third pick.
As for the fourth pick? Rutten seems to think McGregor warrants a place.
McGregor Impact Undeniable
While Rutten agrees that the Irishman lacks things such as title defenses, he feels the impact and eyeballs he has brought to the sport is something that cannot be denied.
“How many more eyeballs did Conor McGregor put to MMA? Is he the greatest fighter with the submission losses? No, he’s not,” Rutten told MMA Junkie (via MMA News).
“He’s a very good fighter, but just because of what he did and how much attention he brought to MMA, does he deserve to be in it? Everyone is going to go, ‘You’re crazy.’ But really?”
It’s certainly a talking point, if impact is a criterion in the discussion.
McGregor, for one, believes he is already a contender to be the GOAT of MMA as he sparked that separate discussion last month. If he wants it to become a more unanimous opinion, he will have to eventually come out of his current retirement.
Do you agree with Rutten that McGregor deserves a place in the MMA Mount Rushmore?