UFC 246: Conor McGregor Wants to Compete in “Multiple” Boxing Matches

In recent weeks, most of the talk tied to Conor McGregor has been about the possibility of him fighting for the UFC’s lightweight title again and more recently, even the welterweight belt. But, in a recent interview the controversial star gave, McGregor made it very clear that he still has big plans for the boxing world.

McGregor wants to fight in “multiple” boxing matches

After McGregor boxed the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017,  in what was one of the biggest fights in combat sports history, there was extensive speculation about whether we’d see him box again. In particular, there was widespread talk about him boxing Paulie Malignaggi, on account of their highly publicized fallout.

As noted above, however, buzz about McGregor boxing again had dropped off considerably. But, while speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani recently, McGregor was asked about whether he hopes to take more pro-boxing fights again. Here’s some of what McGregor had to say (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I’d like to rematch Floyd,” McGregor said. “I think we should rematch Floyd. He’s flirting with [a comeback] and doing all this, he can go and pick someone else, it’s not going to be the same.”

“…But also I would be open to other boxing bouts,” McGregor said. “Manny, we were actually close to signing [a fight with] Manny. There’s been talks about a Manny fight as well. There was an offer made on that. Just not yet.”

“Very much so,” McGregor said about his interest in boxing. “And the Paulie [Malignaggi] fight. I’d like to box Paulie as well. I already knocked him out but that’s a bit of buzz as well. Paulie and a boxing bout. I want to box again. I will box again. I will get a boxing world title.

“I would box multiple times. I love boxing and I’m damn good.”

So, this is pretty interesting to hear, although, not necessarily all that surprising. McGregor is a massive competitor at heart, so the fact he wants to fight Mayweather Jr. again isn’t a shock. Nor is his confidence that he can win a boxing title.

But will it happen?

That’s the question: will McGregor get his wish? Provided McGregor gets by Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 this Saturday, then the chances of the star boxing anytime soon seem very slim. A win on Saturday will queue up other massive fights for the UFC, so, the promotion isn’t going to let McGregor go box.

But, if McGregor returns to the top of the MMA mountain, then you never know. Dana White might call on McGregor to box under his Zuffa Boxing banner. In fact, if McGregor loses in the Octagon sometime this year, maybe White will look at harnessing the fighter’s star power for Zuffa Boxing as well.