UFC president would ‘rather not’ have Conor McGregor in boxing ring again
Conor McGregor watches replays after losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a super welterweight boxing match Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
Although his fighter took a painful loss, UFC President Dana White is extremely proud of his Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor after going toe-to-toe with iconic boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. for 10 rounds.
With the Irish sensation showing promise in the ring despite the defeat, the UFC head honcho was asked if he’d be ok if McGregor returns to the boxing ring again.
“I would rather he did not,” White said, as relayed by MMA Fighting. “This isn’t what he does. He’s a mixed martial artist where he goes in and he fights and he uses all of his weapons, and tonight he was only allowed use his hands.”
McGregor’s transition from the octagon to the boxing might open some doors for other MMA fighters to do so as well, but White made it clear that this was a special case.
“I don’t even want to talk about my other guys in a boxing match,” he said. “This one was these two big superstars, this thing built from the bottom up from the fans to the media and then up to us when we even started remotely considering something like this. It was a special event and a rare event. I’m not looking to do this again.”
McGregor looked comfortable in the early minutes of the fight, but was visibly slowing down in rounds 4 and 5.
“It’s not the fight I thought it would be, it was a completely different fight than I expected,” White told the news outlet. “When you get into professional boxing, you guys know, you start four rounds, you go six rounds. He went 10 rounds tonight with arguably the greatest to ever do it.”
Regardless of the result, White still has full support of his fighter and is not rushing him for a comeback to the octagon anytime soon.
“We’re not talking about fighting tonight,” White said. “He put on a great performance. We’re not talking about fighting. You know how he is. When he’s ready, he’ll let me know.” Khristian Ibarrola /ra
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