Sunday marked the one year anniversary of Mayweather vs. McGregor. Now it appears McGregor might be laying the groundwork for a rematch.
Is Conor McGregor fishing for a rematch with Floyd Mayweather?
Let the trash talking begin.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
It started when TMZ caught up with Mayweather on the anniversary of the superfight to ask his opinion on McGregor’s upcoming fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight championship. Floyd gushed over McGregor’s ability, even wanting his former opponent to come and train with him.
“I know that UFC got a training facility but we’d like for him to work out at the Mayweather Boxing Club.”
This olive branch was swatted away on Tuesday night.
Let’s be 100 percent real here: Mayweather knew exactly what he was doing by suggesting McGregor train at him gym. It’s a clearly implied jab that the UFC fighter could learn a thing or two from the boxer, and while Mayweather called McGregor a “warrior,” and praised him for his toughness — in the end there’s a very definite “you could learn a thing or two, kid” vibe from the training offer.
McGregor has been taking his shots on social media too in honor of the anniversary of the superfight, including a photo that implied that Mayweather was in trouble when the two met.
He’s also been making excuses for losing the 2017 boxing match, indicating that the stringent rules the fight was set to played a role in the outcome.
So what do we make of all this?
There have been so many rumors of a rematch over the last year, and none of them have been substantiated. In April the idea reached a fevered pitch when a sports promoter tweeted that Mayweather and McGregor were working on the idea of fighting in a modified UFC fight, using light gloves and the clinch — but no elbows, kicks, or knee strikes.
Dana White quickly shot this down.
That said, McGregor is aware of the rumors too, and talking about the “load of rules” he had to adhere to is stoking the flames. Saying “f*** you,” to Mayweather? That’s just the icing on the cake.
A lot will hinge on what happens in Khabib vs. McGregor on Oct. 6. Until that point any discussion of a superfight rematch is off the cards. That said, both Mayweather and McGregor know the fight game, know that this needs a slow burn to lead up to the fight and both like money, so maybe?
Right now it’s safe to say that this is just McGregor being McGregor, and leave it at that.
