Another fantasy fight is in the works with reports that mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has been offered a cool $5 million to face a Chinese kickboxer. Such was revealed by the Irishman's coach John Kavanagh and says that this was a legitimate offer.
Kavanagh admitted that he does get a lot of messages similar to this one although he doesn't really pay attention to them. But as far as this person (whose name was not revealed), the guy does have connections, The Express said.
This comes not long after Floyd Mayweather Jr. alleged face-off against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa. The undefeated American pug announced that he will be coming out of retirement to face the Japanese fighter in a special match set at Rizin 14, the Bloody Elbow said.
As far as the potential match between McGregor and the unnamed Chinese kickboxer, making it happen may not be in the hands of the camp of the Irishman. He is under contract with the UFC, meaning Dana White and company will have a say on it.
It will be recalled that the UFC allowed McGregor to face Mayweather in a boxing match back in 2017 although the scenarios are different as of to date. At the top of the list is the infamous UFC 229 brawl involving Khabib Nurmagomedov who ironically made a pitch to Mayweather as well.
For $5 million, it remains to be seen if "The Notorious" will actually consider the match. The legitimacy of the offer remains on the table so it will be interesting if both camps will get to the next step. But this early, the potential clash will need a lot of backing and boost to at least get to the level of interest that the Mayweather vs. Nasukawa fight will have.
The sudden rise of crossover fights between the two sports has increased the past year. Before the Chinese kickboxer entered the fray, there was even talk of possibly seeing Pacquiao face the Irishman. It never prospered despite the popularity angle that the Filipino boxing icon carried.
The UFC may not be inclined to consider it as it tries to push its stock which has been slipping. Most of their fighters have been jumping ship, including Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson who are now with ONE Championship.
McGregor's division is slowly growing thin and the UFC needs to find ways to keep it from losing its luster. They could use this fight as a means to catapult the sagging fortunes of the division with McGregor in the starring role.
