Conor McGregor Wants To Return To Boxing, But MMA Is His Priority

Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor returned to the Octagon last January at UFC 246, after a two-year layoff. The 31-year-old defeated ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone by TKO, just forty seconds into the fight.

Despite the spectacular MMA comeback, McGregor has plans to return to the boxing ring. The Dubliner boxed against arguably the greatest boxer ever in the lighter weight divisions, the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr, in 2017, and lost by TKO. Since then, McGregor has received multiple unofficial offers from boxing legends such as Manny Pacquiao, and recently Oscar De La Hoya.

Nevertheless, McGregor’s manager Audie Attar told MMA Junkie that the UFC superstar still prioritises MMA.

“I think he’s thinking MMA first. Boxing is definitely something he plans on doing, but I think he’s thinking MMA first,” he said. “And who the opponent is, it could be [Justin Gaethje or Tony Ferguson], it could be someone else. It just depends on how things play out and where he wants to take it. Ultimately, I think all the fans want to see him fight, so it doesn’t matter who he fights – he’ll fight someone.

“Whether he fights [Gaethje] or whether he fights another opponent, we will see. Let’s see how this thing plays out and let’s see how discussions go and then as it relates to him fighting Manny or any other boxer in the future, that’s always a possibility.”

If we take into the consideration that McGregor and Pacquiao are now sharing the same management team, this matchup will be much easier to make if other circumstances align. But first, Conor is looking to return to the Octagon this summer and Attar said that there are few possible opponents in the mix.

“I think at the end of the day, he is an amazing talent, an amazing not only athlete, but personality – and someone fans want to see compete. And ultimately, I think that there’s a few matchups that we can make. It’s just about how things play out and what makes sense,” Attar concluded.

Justin Gaethje stopped Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 last Saturday and is expected to face the champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov in autumn. Besides ‘El Cucuy’ being one of the logical choices for the Irishman, there has also been rumours about a possible fight between McGregor and Masvidal. Although Dana White was quick to dismiss this.

In the last day, McGregor has traded blows with Khabib, Gaethje, Ferguson, Dustin Poirier, Nate Diaz and Ali Abdelaziz.

Who would you like to see Conor McGregor fight next?


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