Conor McGregor will have the opportunity to get some tips from a former foe ahead of his title bout at UFC 229 if he so chooses.
Floyd Mayweather, who defeated McGregor via 10th round technical knockout in a boxing match in August 2017, recently told TMZ Sports that he’d welcome the Irishman to his boxing gym in Las Vegas. McGregor is slated to face the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 6.
“I’ll talk with [UFC President Dana White], I may talk with Conor to get some tickets,” Mayweather said. “But leading up to the fight, when McGregor gets to Las Vegas, we’d like him to train at — I know the UFC has got a training facility — but we’d like for him to work out at the Mayweather Boxing Club.”
The one-year anniversary of Mayweather’s victory over McGregor on Aug. 26, 2017. The pound-for-pound boxing great reportedly earned $300 million for the bout, while McGregor took home in the neighborhood of $100 million. The bout drew the second-most pay-per-view buys in history behind only Mayweather’s blockbuster matchup with Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather has teased an MMA debut since then, but for now he remains retired from combat sports. While he clearly has respect for his onetime opponent, he abstained from making a prediction on the UFC 229 headliner due to his unfamiliarity with Nurmagomedov.
“I don’t really have a prediction because I’ve never seen the guy that’s facing Conor McGregor, but from what I know he’s a hell of a guy that’s on the ground, a hell of a grappler, and he can wrestle,” Mayweather said. “But the fans want to see you stand up and fight, that’s what the fans like to see. Conor McGregor, he’s a tough competitor.
“Conor McGregor’s not going to back down from anyone. He’s not scared. He’s a warrior.”