Conor McGregor has been teasing a comeback, and one option could involve a $250 million mega-bout in boxing.
The Irishman announced his retirement from fighting in an abrupt social media post in June, citing boredom, tiredness, and feeling uninspired by the options presented to him by the UFC.
The UFC commentator Joe Rogan said at the time he did not believe McGregor would stay retired, multiple fighters including Dustin Poirier and Floyd Mayweather even challenged him to return, with the UFC president Dana White expecting to see McGregor fight once again within a year.
Though McGregor appears to be living his best life in retirement, celebrating his recent 32nd birthday with a drink and a smoke, he sparked speculation that he had signed a new bout agreement — one which would see him fight in the coming months.
Last week, he tweeted a two-word message saying: "I accept!"
—Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 30, 2020
It remains unclear whether McGregor was saying he accepted a fight, and so it is even more unclear who the other name on the bout agreement could even be.
However, McGregor's post did follow challenges from multiple fighters including the 58-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, the well-rounded mixed martial artist Tony Ferguson, and the fast-rising MMA prospect Khamzat Chimaev.
Though a bout with Ferguson would be the most intriguing, it is the final name on that three-man shortlist which is the most surprising.
Chimaev was one of the stand-out performers at the inaugural "Fight Island" festival last month, as the Chechen "smasher" brutalized two opponents without taking as much as a scratch in return.
But though he is still new to the UFC, Chimaev has been trolling McGregor on social media and even told White he thinks he could beat McGregor, Nate Diaz, and Jorge Masvidal on the same night.
White was asked about the "I accept" tweet at a recent media event in Las Vegas.
"That was Khamzat … Khamzat posted, 'I want Nate Diaz, Masvidal, or McGregor,' and McGregor said, 'I accept,'" White told reporters. "That's what that was."
On whether there'd be any interest from the UFC's point-of-view in booking a match between McGregor and Chimaev, White laughed. "No," he said.
"Conor's retired and Conor's move right now is, sit back, see how this year plays out and see what's next for him."
But it wasn't McGregor's only tweet that week
McGregor tweeted the same message albeit in a different language on Friday, July 31.
He said: "Tinatanggap ko."
The message was posted in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines and one spoken by the multi-weight boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
—Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 31, 2020
McGregor's name has been linked to Pacquiao's before.
Ahead of the former two-weight UFC champion's UFC 246 match against Donald Cerrone in January, McGregor said he had been in talks with Pacquiao regarding a super-fight in boxing.
The bout could generate upwards of $250 million, an industry expert told Insider in Las Vegas earlier this year, and it is one Pacquiao's team was interested in at the time.When rumors started, Pacquiao's adviser Sean Gibbons challenged McGregor to a "proper" fight with his client.
The next month, Pacquiao signed management terms with Paradigm SM, an agency which also counts McGregor as a client, and made a mega-fight more likely.
Paradigm boss Audie Attar then said in May that a McGregor and Pacquiao fight remains possible, as "boxing is definitely something [McGregor] plans on doing."
White, though, does not seem enthused.
"I don't care about any of that s---," he told reporters Saturday when asked about the McGregor vs. Pacquiao rumors.
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