There’s a pretty decent split in reactions over the much hyped and now official Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match. You’ve got those who are excited to see it because who knows what may happen, and those who think it’s a waste of time. A lot of the latter are MMA fans who just want Conor McGregor to defend his damn UFC lightweight title. But there’s a silver lining tucked into all this Mayweather vs. McGregor news for those people: with the fight going down August 26th, there’s a very good chance we’ll see McGregor back in the UFC by the end of the year. UFC president Dana White confirmed as much during the fight announcement media call.
“I’m pretty confident and the conversation I had with him, he’s fired up and excited to fight again and defend his title by the end of the year,” White said. “If I had to tell you right here right now do I think Conor’s coming back this year? I absolutely do.”
White took some of his answer to punk his own roster of fighters, possibly (especially) Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson.
“Nothing is ever guaranteed. You can’t be guaranteed anyone is ever going to fight again. But if you look at Conor and the type of fighter — the reason the fight is so big and the reason he’s such a superstar is because this guy will fight anyone anywhere anytime. He’s going to step in and fight Floyd Mayweather under boxing rules. These are the reasons people love this kid. I got all these guys crying about ‘Oh Conor this and Conor that.’ Shut up. Step up and fight like Conor McGregor fights. Take the big fights when someone falls out on four or five days notice. He’ll fight anyone. That’s why people love him.”
That seems in direct comparison to flyweight champ ‘Mighty Mouse’, who is refusing to fight former bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw and has called the UFC out for ‘bullying’ over the demand.
“When you’re a true fight fan, you don’t mind hearing about the money and all that other stuff so long as it’s a guy who loves to fight and he’s willing to challenge himself against anybody out there,” White said later in the call. “Fights fall out, I’ve got all these different situations over the last several years where a fight falls out. And we’ve got these guys who are supposed to be the biggest, baddest guys in the world. They claim they’re the best in the world or they’re the world champion or whatever it may be. They’re not willing to step up and take a late minute replacement. And when you’re a fan, you bought tickets, you got your hotel booked, you got a party planned on Saturday night.”
“When your guy steps up and fights anybody and then wins, that’s the stuff that everybody loves. And that’s the way Conor is. Conor told me this morning the McGregor clan has been taking over villages for 300 years, and Floyd’s village is next.”
Win or lose, we can’t wait to hear which village is on the McGregor clan’s radar afterwards.
