Conor McGregor is no stranger to making huge claims about his talent. He’s been talking about taking the featherweight belt home to Ireland since he appeared in the UFC two years ago as a relatively untested fighter. Thus far, he’s backed all that smack talk up, going 5-0 and earning himself a title shot this July against the 145-pound kingpin, Jose Aldo.
But this latest smack… well, just read it. Via a lengthy article in Esquire:
“I don’t look at a man who’s expert in one area as a specialist,” he says. “I look at him as a rookie in ten other areas. If you can box, what happens if I grab hold of your legs? If you put me face-to-face with Floyd Mayweather — pound-for-pound boxing’s best — if I fought Floyd, I would kill him in less than thirty seconds. It would take me less than thirty seconds to wrap around him like a boa constrictor and strangle him.”
There’s no doubt that Mayweather would beat McGregor in a proper boxing match, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about a straight fight, no rules. Considering that Floyd hasn’t knocked anyone out in four years, and that one was the result of a sucker punch, I don’t doubt that Conor would have the time to shoot in, take the pound-for-pound great down, and jiu jitsu the crap out of him.
These theoretical fights are all kind of silly. Slap a hockey jersey and some skates on Mayweather, and Jared Boll of the Columbus Blue Jackets could beat him up. Put Floyd in a singlet, and any of the NCAA wrestling guys could drop him on his head.
I guess it’s fun to remind the world that Floyd isn’t the best fighter, just the best at his very specific form of combat sport. That’s what makes Ultimate Fighting so Ultimate; it shows you who the top dog is when there are no rules. Then again, in a real “no rules,” fight Floyd’s entourage would probably be there to kick Conor upside the head and hold him while Floyd tenderized the Irishman’s organs. That’s “as real as it gets.”
[Esquire]