Over the past couple of weeks, Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather have started taking shots at each other over social media leading to speculation that the former opponents are angling towards a potential rematch in 2018.
McGregor has stated in the past that he would be interested in taking another shot at Mayweather, who retired after their first fight when he TKO’d the UFC champion in the 10th round.
While Mayweather seems to be content with his 50-0 career record, it’s impossible to ignore the attention he’s been paying McGregor recently and considering their first fight reportedly sold 4.3 million pay-per-view buys, it’s not shocking that either one of them would want to pursue a rematch.
Still, UFC president Dana White says that for all the bluster coming from McGregor and Mayweather recently, he has no desire to go through another boxing match between the two of them.
“I don’t want to do it again,” White said on Sunday night in St. Louis. “I heard that Floyd Mayweather showed up last night at one of the nightclubs in Vegas with a Conor McGregor t-shirt on. I know these guys have been talking s–t but I want Conor to start training again and come back and defend his title.”
White has said that McGregor is currently hinting at a September return to the Octagon, which would be nearly two years since his last fight at UFC 205 where he defeated Eddie Alvarez to become lightweight champion.
If McGregor sits out that long, White says the UFC would have no other choice but to strip him of the belt so the lightweight division could move on without him.
McGregor has said he’s willing to return sooner rather than later but only after his demands on a new UFC contract are met. In the mean time, McGregor seems content to fuel further speculation that he might be pursuing the rematch with Mayweather in the boxing ring.
