While much of the world is fixated on a potential superfight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr., UFC president Dana White has his doubts.
“We’re nowhere. We’re nowhere with it. We’re nowhere,” White recently told TMZ Sports. ” … I expect Conor’s next fight to be in the UFC, in mixed martial arts, and the winner of Khabib (Nurmagomedov) and (Tony) Ferguson.”
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson are set to face each other Saturday at UFC 209 for the UFC interim lightweight title. McGregor, of course, holds the UFC lightweight title, which he won from Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November, so a bout between him and this weekend’s winner makes sense on the surface.
That said, neither Nurmagomedov nor Ferguson is a household name like Mayweather despite their immense talent. So even though stepping into the octagon to fight either of those guys perhaps is a more realistic option for McGregor, there certainly is plenty of financial incentive for The Notorious to continue pursuing a boxing match with Mayweather.
Plus, McGregor wouldn’t have much to lose in a boxing match with Mayweather, as he’d enter the fight as a heavy underdog whose reputation probably wouldn’t be damaged regardless of the outcome. A fight with someone like Nurmagomedov, who owns a perfect 24-0 MMA record, would come with some risk, especially with Nurmagomedov’s style possibly posing a challenge for McGregor.
“Listen, people have been doubting Conor since the day he stepped onto the scene,” White said. “Khabib is awesome, Khabib is tough, but people have been doubting (McGregor) since day one.”
Thumbnail photo via Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports Images
