Move over, Floyd Mayweather Jr.! You’re not the only boxer willing to mix it up with current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight king Conor McGregor.
According to a recent report by Flo Combat, former WBA (Super) and IBF Light-Welterweight boxing champion Amir Khan is open to fighting “Notorious.” But unlike Mayweather, the 29-year-old England native would be willing to meet McGregor inside of the famed Octagon.
“I’m a little different in that sense, where I would get into a cage and I would fight in MMA rules, so that’s the difference between me and Mayweather,” said Khan. “I would definitely give it a go. It’s something to learn, as well. I’m at that age where I’m still learning, adapting and getting better. So I still have time under me as well. I’m still a young lad and got loads left in me.”
While Khan has never trained mixed martial arts (MMA) before, he believes it would be a relatively natural transition.
“I would, definitely [fight in the UFC]. Something like that would be massive,” added Khan. “Even if I started to train MMA next year, I’d only be 30 years old. I could stop and train for a full year and become a good MMA fighter. It’s in our blood to fight. I’ve been fighting all my life, so for me, I don’t think it’d be a problem for me to learn and switch over to the sport.”
It’s difficult to imagine that a boxer can become a “good MMA fighter” in just one year, but crazier things have happened. At least Khan wouldn’t be overlooking McGregor if the two ever did lock horns inside of the cage.
“I think McGregor has some great boxing skills,” said Khan. “A good boxer will always win a MMA fight–I’ve always said that. A good puncher will always win. You saw in the Aldo fight–he took a step back and countered him as he came in. With boxing, it’s all about distance and timing, and that’s something we have on our side more than MMA fighters.”
This may be Khan’s attempt of staying in the combat spotlight after getting bamboozled by Canelo Alvarez via sixth-round knockout back in May, but if anything were to happen he would have to wait for McGregor to hash out his differences with Nate Diaz at UFC 202 on Aug. 20.