Conor McGregor: Floyd Mayweather to attend UFC 229? ‘Money’ reveals plan for Khabib fight
CONOR MCGREGOR makes his long-awaited return to the UFC in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Welcoming McGregor back to the mixed martial arts world will be his successor at the summit of the lightweight division, the undefeated and much-feared Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor’s showdown with the Russian wrecking machine has been nearly two years in the making and promises to be the biggest fight in UFC and mixed martial arts history.
The charismatic Irishman’s outing at UFC 229 will be his first since his much-maligned boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr, a contest where he earned a reported £100m.
McGregor’s jaunt into the boxing world didn’t have the fairytale ending he envisaged as he suffered a tenth-round TKO defeat to the former five-weight world champion.
Mayweather came out of his bout with McGregor with a new-found respect for the UFC’s poster boy and has spoken glowingly of him ever since.
So will the legendary boxer be in attendance for most recent opponent’s comeback fight early on Sunday?
The Michigan native was asked that very question not long after the announcement of ‘The Notorious’’ return and revealed that he’ll try bag himself a ticket for the bout.
"I'll talk with (UFC President) Dana (White)," Mayweather told TMZ. "I may talk with Conor and get some tickets."
I may talk with Conor and get some tickets
Mayweather admits to not knowing much about Nurmagomedov’s skill set but believes McGregor will overcome the undefeated Russian.
"From what I know, (Nurmagomedov is) a hell of a grappler, and he can wrestle," Mayweather. "But you know, the fans want to see you stand up and fight. That's what they want to see.
"But Conor McGregor's a tough competitor. Conor McGregor's not going to back down from anyone. He's not scared. He's a warrior."
McGregor, 30, hasn’t fought in the UFC since claiming the lightweight title with an emphatic second-round TKO victory over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, a card where he became the first fighter in the promotion’s history to hold two titles simultaneously.
UFC 229 Fight Card
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor (lightweight title fight)
Tony Ferguson vs Anthony Pettis (lightweight bout)
Ovince Saint Preux vs Dominick Reyes (light-heavyweight bout)
Derrick Lewis vs Alexander Volkov (heavyweight bout)
Michelle Waterson vs Felice Herring (women’s strawweight bout)
Prelims
Sean O’Malley vs Jose Alberto Quinonez (men’s bantamweight bout)
Sergio Pettis vs Jussier Formica (men’s flyweight bout)
Scott Holtzman vs Alan Patrick (lightweight bout)
Ryan LaFlare vs Tony Martin (welterweight bout)
Lina Lansberg vs Yana Kunitskaya (women’s bantamweight bout)
Gray Maynard vs Nik Lentz (lightweight bout)
Aspen Ladd vs Tonya Evinger (women's bantamweight bout)