Conor McGregor may have alleviated fans’ fears on Tuesday by stating his intention to return to MMA following his lucrative boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
If money truly is the prime motivating factor for the UFC lightweight champion, then McGregor may find that his hunger for competition may be affected following the conclusion of his business with Mayweather Jr.
With speculation claiming that McGregor could be looking a total income of over $100 million for his professional boxing debut (win, lose or draw), a return to fighting exclusively for UFC purses would see him competing for a financial reward significantly less than the aforementioned figure.
According to McGregor himself, there is more behind his motivation for competing than just money. Speaking to reporters following the Mayweather vs. McGregor press conference on Tuesday night, “The Notorious” professed his desire to return to a sport which he ‘enjoys’ and ‘loves to do’:
“Look, I love a true fight,” McGregor claimed. “Elbows, knees, shin bone, you ever bounce a shin bone off a nose bone? You ever dug an elbow into the temple? It’s an unusual feeling. It’s an unusual feeling when the elbow bone digs into the temple. It’s a nasty little one. It’s something I enjoy. It’s something I love to do.
“So I look forward to going back to MMA and have a true fight after this.”
McGregor, while not confirming any opponents by name, intimated that there may be ‘rematches’ in his return, suggesting that there may be, at least, more than one fight left in the tank:
“Maybe rematches and all will be in there. We’ll see,” McGregor said. “I’m not forgetting my mixed martial arts training. I always focus on my kicking game, I always focus on my grappling, I always focus on my wrestling. On occasion, I do a little bit of boxing.”
