Islam Makhachev open to Conor McGregor boxing match ‘regardless of purse’

Dan Hiergesell is an expert voice who serves as MMAmania.com’s weekend editor, covering mixed martial arts (MMA) for more than 15 years, getting featured on programs such as Countdown to UFC and SiriusXM Fight Club, among others.

Islam Makhachev is interested in a boxing match with Team Khabib rival, Conor McGregor, and he really doesn’t care how much he gets paid.

Makhachev, who has worked tirelessly over the past five years to become a two-division UFC champion and the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, has become confident in all of his skills. This includes his world-class wrestling and submission game, as well as his budding striking.

The reigning UFC welterweight champion has significantly evolved on the feet over the years and would be willing to put his striking to the test against the best the UFC has to offer. While McGregor is certainly past his prime and just suffered a brutal injury during his comeback fight at UFC 329, “Notorious” is still considered one of the best boxers in mixed martial arts (MMA).

Remember, he went 10 rounds with Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in 2017 and sports some of the most iconic knockouts in UFC history.

During a recent interview with Ushatayka, Makhachev revealed that he’d be willing to meet McGregor inside of the boxing ring to prove “Notorious” is nothing more than a one-round fighter. In fact, Makhachev is so confident that he doesn’t even need to get paid that much to fight McGregor.

“Yes maybe he’s dangerous in the first round, but after that I don’t think he has any chance,” said Makhachev in an interview earlier this week. “Honestly, regardless of the purse I’d box [Conor].”