Conor McGregor addresses the media at the UFC 205 press conference at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on September 27, 2016 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Michael Reaves)
Speculation surrounding a fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather died down over the past few weeks. However, the two-division champion now seems to be looking to put his boxing license to good use and may even go against the UFC's wishes to do so.
"[The fight against Mayweather] has been in the works awhile now," McGregor told MMA Fighting in an exclusive interview. Further on in the interview, he explained that a bout against Mayweather is the one he wanted because he currently does not want to fight against any of the "bums" on the UFC roster. McGregor added that he is a 100 percent confident that the next time he will fight will be between the ropes instead of in a cage.
McGregor stated that he would come into the fight with a sizeable advantage thanks to his reach, youth, confidence, and fighting style. He then went on to trash talk Mayweather, saying that the retired boxer was scared of him and how he needs rules to protect him if ever the fight does become a reality. However, McGregor did not seem worried whether the fight will take place in a boxing ring or in the Octagon.
When asked when the fight could potentially take place, McGregor stated that it is likely to happen by the end of the year or around the beginning of 2018. It is also worth noting that he had expressed his intentions to defend the featherweight title in March after he won the lightweight belt, but the former was stripped from him and given to Jose Aldo. A second fight between Aldo and McGregor for the title would be unlikely though, as the latter is taking a break due to expecting his firstborn, Sports Joe reported.
Despite the fact that a lot of money could be made from this fight, it has been a logistic nightmare for the UFC. The promotion's president Dana White has thrown out multiple offers, all of which were rejected by Mayweather. The latest known offer from White was worth around $25 million for each fighter, but Mayweather countered it stating that he wanted no less than $100 million to take the fight.
Watch some of McGregor's best knockouts in the video below:
