UFC 196 will take place on Saturday, and there is some pretty big anticipation for the main event between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The fight isn't for any championship, but these two still don't exactly like each other and would obviously love to beat each other up.
McGregor is facing a tough challenge in Diaz, as he is moving up two weight classes for this fight. "The Notorious" is the current champion of the featherweight division (145 pounds) but is moving up to welterweight for this fight (170 pounds), which puts him at a bit of a disadvantage. Despite all of that, McGregor is still the favorite in the fight, but it certainly should not be a cake-walk for him.
Even with this fight coming up in a couple days' time, there have been a lot of questions about what is next for one of the UFC's biggest stars after he fights Diaz. McGregor has a lot of options considering he can fight in three different weight classes, but an interesting proposition is a potential boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. McGregor said that he would be open to a fight with Mayweather.
"I'm open to discussions, come at me. But I hold the key and it's me who holds the key to the fight game. I am open minded, I am open to discussion, I love competition, I love fighting. It would be nice to make that fight if the fans were interested and wanted to see it," McGregor said.
This hypothetical fight would be huge considering McGregor is quickly becoming the UFC's biggest star and Mayweather is an undefeated boxer that always draws a lot of attention. McGregor is open to fighting anyone in any fashion, as shown by him moving up two weight classes to fight Diaz, but a boxing match against one of the best boxers in recent memory is a completely different animal.
As for whether Mayweather would be interested in this sort of fight, the answer is probably no. We know that Mayweather loves big paydays, and this would certainly be one, but he does not seem all that tempted to get back in the ring after retiring last September. Instead, Mayweather has focused his efforts on potentially owning an NBA team in the near future.
The idea of a Mayweather vs. McGregor boxing watch is definitely one that fans would love to see, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem very likely to ever happen. McGregor needs to focus on his business in the UFC for now, as he has a lot of people gunning for him and a lot more he wants to accomplish in the octagon. It is a nice pipedream, but for now, we will have to settle for the 27-year-old fighter to entertain us via MMA.
