Conor McGregor has been taking some much deserved time away from fighting in the UFC, but that doesn’t mean he’s been twiddling his thumbs or anything. He’s still training regularly at his gym in Dublin. He’s still popping up in the news every day. And at a special ‘An Experience With Conor McGregor’ event in Manchester, he revealed he’s working hard towards making his goal of fighting Floyd Mayweather in a billion dollar fight a reality. And he’s not interested in any other match.
“Me and Floyd have got to get together and figure it out, the same way Floyd and Manny figured it out,” McGregor told Ariel Helwani during an hour long interview in front of thousands of fans. “Once we come to a set number that I’m happy with, that he’s happy with. Then we go to the customers, we go to the promoters, the buyers. And then we get it done. That’s next. I’ll go to Vegas and I’ll handle the commission, we’ll figure that situation out. And we’ll come to a dotted line and then we’ll go. But this is happening.”
McGregor shot down Helwani for doubting the fight was a serious possibility. Many sports outlets, us included, treated a Floyd versus Conor match up similarly, believing it was just media posturing to raise both fighters’ profiles. But Conor insisted the fight has always been a real possibility since it first started getting mentioned.
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“That fight was more than just being explored,” McGregor said. “That fight has been in the works for a while now. There’s a lot of steps to get the fight done. But it’s the fight to make. It’s the fight that people want. It’s the fight that I want. It’s the fight that I’m confident going in there. I’ve got the reach. I’ve got the youth. I’ve got the unpredictable style. You can’t prepare for a style like me. A guy said to me why conquer one world when you can conquer two? So I’m going to go conquer two worlds.”
When asked if he thought he could do the fight without the UFC, McGregor said it was possible.
“I believe so, with the Ali act I believe I can,” he said, referring to a federal US law put in place to stop promoters from restricting boxers from competing. “But I think it’s smoother with all involved. I think we’re all about good business. I’ve done great business with the UFC, with Dana and everyone. But again, everyone’s gotta know their place. So we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“If Manny and Floyd did half a billion, I believe this one, cross sports, never before seen, this is the first billion dollar fight. So peoples gotta pay for a billion dollar fight. So it’s getting there. We’ll see.”
As for whether Floyd was as serious about getting the fight made, Conor hesitated before saying he hoped so.
“As I close in on him, we’ll find out then,” McGregor said. “But it’s very hard to go back now because I’m hunting now. I hope so. I believe so. … I believe it will happen by the end of this year or early next year. I believe either side of that it will happen.”