FILE – Conor McGregor speaks during a media event for the UFC 246 mixed martial arts bout, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, in Las Vegas. McGregor is scheduled to fight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in a welterweight bout Saturday in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
MANILA, Philippines — A return to boxing is among Conor McGregor’s plans but not his top priority.
Audie Attar, McGregor’s manager, said the MMA superstar is more inclined to appearing in The Octagon first before resuming his boxing career.
“Boxing is definitely something he plans on doing, but I think he’s thinking MMA first. And who the opponent is, it could be [Justin Gaethje or Tony Ferguson], it could be someone else,” Attar told MMA Junkie. “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.”
The 31-year-old McGregor last fought in the UFC four months ago when he stopped Donald Cerrone in the first round.
As far as his boxing career is concerned, McGregor has long been rumored for a fight with WBA (Super) welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, who signed with Attar’s Paradigm Sports Management last February.
In his only boxing match so far, McGregor lost to former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. via 10th round TKO in 2017.