Amir Khan is willing to enter Conor McGregor’s world.
There’s been a lot of speculation regarding a potential superfight between McGregor and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. The hype has centered around a boxing match involving the two combat sports stars, but Khan, a former boxing champion, has another idea that involves stepping into the octagon.
“I’m a little different in that sense, where I would get into a cage and I would fight in MMA rules, so that’s the difference between me and Mayweather,” Khan recently told FloCombat. “I would definitely give it a go. It’s something to learn, as well. I’m at that age where I’m still learning, adapting and getting better. So I still have time under me, as well. I’m still a young lad and got loads left in me.”
Khan doesn’t turn 30 until December, so, in theory, he still has time to train for a career in mixed martial arts. And given his status as a former boxing champ and Olympic silver medalist, there surely would be some interest in a fight between him and McGregor, even if it stemmed mostly from the novelty of a cross-sport throwdown.
“I would, definitely,” Khan said, according to FloCombat, of accepting an MMA fight with McGregor. “Something like that would be massive. Even if I started to train MMA next year, I’d only be 30 years old. I could stop and train for a full year and become a good MMA fighter. It’s in our blood to fight. I’ve been fighting all my life, so for me, I don’t think it’d be a problem for me to learn and switch over to the sport.
“It just depends on the weight category,” Khan added, per FloCombat. “But look, as a fighter, that’s a fight I would take. McGregor is a massive name in MMA, and I’m a big name in boxing, so globally, I think it would be a massive fight. Sometimes, you have to put friendship aside and you have to take it in the cage or in the ring. But yeah, if that fight comes up to me, I’m not one to back away from it.”
A fight between McGregor and Khan definitely wouldn’t reach the hype of a McGregor-Mayweather fight, regardless of the stipulations. It’s an interesting alternative, though, especially with Khan so enthusiastic about the idea.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
