Audie Attar: Conor McGregor plans on boxing again, but will return to MMA first

Conor McGregor still intends to conquer the worlds of both MMA and boxing.

McGregor faced Floyd Mayweather in a blockbuster boxing match in 2017 and put up a valiant effort, but lost to the undefeated multi-time world boxing champion.

Following his fight with Mayweather, news emerged of talks about a potential McGregor vs. Manny Pacquiao boxing match, but the matchup never came to fruition. But, with Pacquiao recently signing with Paradigm Sports Management, the same management as McGregor, negotiations could be a lot easier for a potential matchup.

McGregor even accepted Oscar De La Hoya’s recent “challenge” after the former world champion-turned-promoter claimed he’d stop McGregor in two rounds if they ever fought.

According to McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, the Dubliner still sees boxing as part of his future plans, but he is focusing on MMA in the immediate term.

“I think he’s thinking MMA first,” Attar told MMA Junkie Radio. “Boxing is definitely something he plans on doing, but I think he’s thinking MMA first. And who the opponent is, it could be (Justin Gaethje or Tony Ferguson), it could be someone else. It just depends on how things play out and where he wants to take it. Ultimately, I think all the fans want to see him fight, so it doesn’t matter who he fights – he’ll fight someone.

“Whether he fights (Gaethje) or whether he fights another opponent, we will see. Let’s see how this thing plays out and let’s see how discussions go and then as it relates to him fighting Manny or any other boxer in the future, that’s always a possibility.”

McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) expressed interest in a potential summer return, but wanted to see how things panned out safety-wise at UFC 249 and the events following the UFC’s three-event week.

Gaethje was crowned UFC interim lightweight champion at UFC 249 when he stopped Ferguson and will be expected to unify the belts with champion Khabib Nurmagomedov sometime in fall.

And Attar says the options for McGregor’s next fight will depend on how things pan out with the rest of the division.

“I think at the end of the day, he is an amazing talent, an amazing not only athlete, but personality – and someone fans want to see compete,” Attar said. “And ultimately, I think that there’s a few matchups that we can make. It’s just about how things play out and what makes sense.”