Conor McGregor knew a lot was riding on his UFC rematch with Dustin Poirier on Saturday. A win will open more opportunities for the Irishman and a loss will shut these doors, and that's exactly what happened. McGregor's money-spinner with Manny Pacquiao is unlikely to proceed.
Shortly after Poirier punished McGregor into a second-round TKO at UFC 257, Khabib Nurmagomedov declared that a second bout with the defeated MMA star would be next to impossible. The Russian felt it's a waste of his time to even consider a rematch with The Notorious.
It appears now that Pacquiao is following suit. The boxing legend's manager, Sean Gibbons, indicated that as a result of McGregor's latest UFC outing, the planned boxing showdown this year between the two superstars will not be moving forward.
If Gibbons' words will be confirmed by Pacquiao, it will be a big blow on the flamboyant UFC superstar. The two fighters have been working in the past months to make the mega-fight happen and it was estimated that the exhibition match could generate a revenue of $250 million, according to Insider.
Gibbons said McGregor only has himself to blame for the lost opportunity, and with it the possible hundreds of millions that melted away. The Pacquiao representative said the UFC star lost sight of the important things in the present by looking too far ahead.
"It looked like Conor looked past Dustin and got knocked out ... Maybe he had the Senator on his mind. I think the demand for the fight is not there presently," Gibbons was reported as saying during an interview with The Sun.
As things stand now, it seems that Team Pacquiao will want to see McGregor recover first from the humiliating setback. As Gibbons suggested that, the Irishman needs to work doubly hard to restore the prestige of his name.
This can be done by picking up the necessary wins the next time he enters the cage again.
McGregor, for his part, did agree that after UFC 257 his attention should be focused on MMA. He added that while his future fight dates have yet to be confirmed, the possibility of a blockbuster clash with Pacquiao is still in the cards.
"That Manny fight was happening. It was as good as done," McGregor insisted, and per the report by the South China Morning Post.
However, the same report also noted that McGregor's stunning defeat at UFC 257 is essentially the MMA superstar giving away the chance to box with a world-class champion and bring home a big paycheck in the process. So for now, better luck next time for The Notorious.
