Conor McGregor offered $3.8m to face Chinese kickboxer in exhibition fight, coach reveals
CONOR MCGREGOR’s head coach John Kavanagh has revealed he received a shock offer for ‘The Notorious’ to face a kickboxer in an exhibition match.
Conor McGregor’s coach reveals HUGE money kickboxing offer
McGregor is currently on the sidelines following his UFC 229 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, in which he failed to reclaim the lightweight title he was stripped of in April.
The Irishman’s next move is currently unknown as he’s awaiting punishment for his part in the brawl which followed UFC 229’s main event, which Nurmagomedov started by attempting to attack his opponent’s team-mate Dillon Danis.
Unlike most fighters, McGregor’s time on the shelf won’t have a detrimental effect on his wallet.
However, Kavanagh has revealed his most famous student could’ve pocketed £3.8million ($5million) for a three-round exhibition match with a Chinese kickboxer, who made him the offer ‘a few days ago’.
“I’ll give you a funny one,” Kavanagh said during an appearance on The True Geordie Podcast when discussing Floyd Mayweather Jr’s upcoming exhibition bout with Tenshin Nasukawa. “I had a guy message me just a few days ago - a Chinese kickboxer [who] wanted to do three rounds with Conor for $5million (£3.8million).
“And he was going to put it in escrow. It wasn’t like he was just [joking].
“Because again, I get a million messages like that a day, but you just don’t pay attention [to them].
“But this guy was connected and it was a legitimate offer. But I know he wouldn’t [do it].”
Although the multi-million-pound offer came in a rather unorthodox manner, Kavanagh insists it was by no means a joke.
He added: “You get the odd funny message like that. And like I said, it was a genuine [offer].
“I know the boxing promoter well and he’s very well known. So he wasn’t going to come with an offer that wasn’t legitimate.”
McGregor, 30, is hoping to have a rematch with Nurmagomedov but is willing to face whoever the UFC brass deem ‘next in line’.
A decision on the future of the lightweight division won’t be made until the pair are sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
"We're on the Nevada State Athletic Commission's time now," UFC president Dana White told Express Sport during the UFC 230 post-fight press conference.
"We're waiting until November... or December. Whenever that thing is.
"And when that thing plays out, then we'll know where we sit and then we'll know what's next."