In a recent appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast, UFC President Dana White shared his thoughts on whether Michael Jordan, the legendary basketball player, could have made it as a martial artist in the UFC.
When asked which basketball players could have transitioned to the world of MMA, White didn’t hesitate to name Jordan. “You gotta go with Jordan,” he replied. “Jordan is a killer. I’ve spoken about Michael Jordan many times. Never met him, don’t know him, don’t want to meet him. I like him too much. I respect him too much. I love his killer instinct.”
White’s admiration for Jordan’s mentality is evident, as he watched the Netflix documentary “The Last Dance” three times. “I love Michael Jordan, I love the killer that he was, you know, everything about him,” he added. “I watched ‘The Last Dance’ three times.”
At the peak of his basketball career, Jordan weighed a reported 216 pounds, which would have placed him in the heavyweight division in the UFC. Standing at an impressive 6 feet 6 inches, the NBA icon could have posed a significant threat inside the Octagon if he had been properly trained.
White’s assessment of Jordan’s potential as an MMA fighter is a testament to the basketball great’s fiercely competitive nature and unrelenting drive to excel. “Jordan is a killer,” the UFC president emphasized, praising the athlete’s “killer instinct” that could have translated well to the world of mixed martial arts.
While Jordan’s basketball legacy is unquestionable, it’s intriguing to imagine how he might have fared in the high-stakes environment of the UFC. White’s unwavering admiration for Jordan’s mentality and physical attributes suggests that the basketball legend could have found success in the world of MMA had he chosen to pursue that path.
