By: Sean Crose
A year after handily besting UFC star Conor McGregor in the Irishman’s first boxing match, Floyd Mayweather had kind words for his former foe in a brief clip from TMZ. He even said he’d like McGregor to train at his Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas as McGregor prepares to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in an MMA superbout this October. McGregor refused Mayweather’s offer in vulgar fashion later in the afternoon, via Twitter. Not that it may bother Mayweather, who might well have been speaking off the cuff and who always appears to like to be in the headlines.
“Conor McGregor’s not gonna back down from anyone,” Mayweather says in the TMZ clip. “He’s not scared. He’s a warrior.” McGregor engaged gamely with Mayweather in last year’s novelty superbout, which he was never expected to win. Although Mayweather stopped his man in the 10th round, many were impressed that McGregor had a few competitive rounds in the early portion of the match. McGregor has since appeared frustrated by the loss, however, and there was even talk that Mayweather might make the unlikely step of moving into the MMA realm. Nothing, however, has come of such news to date. “I know that UFC got a training facility,” Mayweather claims in the TMZ clip, “but we’d like for him (McGregor) to work out at the Mayweather Boxing Club.”
Hours later, McGregor responded, via Twitter. “Fuck the Mayweathers, except Senior and Roger,” the tweet read. “There is no peace here kid. Step up or step down.” This perhaps may be in reference to Mayweather’s supposed interest in MMA. Then again, it might be McGregor simply being a bad sport. Yet it may also be that both men are doing what they do best – garnering attention. McGregor hasn’t fought, either in a ring or an octagon, since the loss to Mayweather. He’s now scheduled to fight one of the most feared men in the UFC. In fact, the odds are reportedly marking McGregor as the underdog in this impending bout, an unlikely position for the UFCs biggest star to find himself in when it comes to the world of MMA.
“I don’t really have a prediction because I’ve never seen the guy fight that’s facing Conor McGregor,” says Mayweather in the TMZ clip. “From what I know he’s a hell of a guy on the ground … hell of a grappler, and he can wrestle.” Still, Mayweather may have also added a dig of his own. “Fans want to see you stand up and fight,” he says. “That’s what the fans like to see.”
Standing up and fighting? Wonder what sport is known for that sort of thing?
