Conor McGregor urged to quit UFC to beat Manny Pacquiao in boxing showdown

UFC: What next for Conor McGregor?

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Conor McGregor has been told to quit UFC in favour of taking on Manny Pacquiao in a boxing super-fight. The Irishman was defeated by Dustin Poirier in the second round of his comeback bout at UFC 257 and was subsequently hit with a six-month medical suspension.

And now McGregor has been urged to return to the ring and take on Pilipino star Pacquiao by boxing legend George Foreman.

The 32-year-old previously took to the ring in 2017, when he faced Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, with Mayweather ultimately winning in round 10.

McGregor has only fought in UFC three times since the loss to Mayweather, with a win over Donald Cerrone being sandwiched by defeats to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018 and Poirier this January.

Despite edging the first round of his fight with Poirier, McGregor fell to the first TKO/KO defeat of his MMA career after a series of leg kicks impacted his movement.

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Following his defeat, McGregor was handed a 180-day medical suspension because of his injured leg, unless he receives clearance from a doctor over his right tibia and fibula.

With the technical knock-out by Poirier still fresh in the memory, Foreman has now told McGregor to turn his attention away from the Octagon.

And the American also believes that McGregor has a good chance of defeating Pacquiao, who is widely regarded as one of the best professional boxers in history.

“It’s hard for McGregor to accept it but he’s a better puncher than he is in MMA,” Foreman told the Daily Star Sunday.

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“I’d rather see him in boxing matches now. I think if he has a fight with Pacquiao he can actually beat him – good rules, over 10 rounds, McGregor can beat him.

“He’s already adjusted to boxing, he’s not going to do good in MMA anymore. Pacquiao is very good as a matter of fact, but McGregor can beat him in a boxing match.”

McGregor’s loss to Mayweather does provide hope that he could defeat Pacquiao, having landed 111 punches of the 430 he threw against the American – more than Pacquiao landed in his own bout with Mayweather.

Pacquiao’s clash with Mayweather came in 2015, in a bout labelled the ‘Fight of the Century’, with the American winning by unanimous decision.

A shortened bout, as Foreman hopes for, would also seem to benefit McGregor, with the Irish fighter starting his fight against Mayweather well before appearing to run out of energy.

Pacquiao has previously pushed for a bout with McGregor, with rumours of a fight between the two resurfacing following UFC 257.

And McGregor has also admitted part of the reason for his defeat to Poirier was because he had one eye on a potential face-off with Pacquiao.

Pacquiao hasn’t fought since he ended Keith Thurman’s reign as WBA welterweight champion in July 2019, but has been linked with a bout against Ryan Garcia.

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