Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White is eager to get Conor McGregor back in action, but not if it means “Notorious” squaring off with former world boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya.
Earlier this week, De La Hoya discussed a potential boxing match with McGregor and claimed that he would finish “Notorious” in just two rounds. The two have been rumored to meet in the past, but De La Hoya’s most recent comments raised some eyebrows considering he’s 47 years of age and hasn’t competed professionally since 2008.
As expected, McGregor eventually responded to De La Hoya’s callout and even agreed to a fight.
I accept your challenge, Oscar de la Hoya.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 7, 2020
“I accept your challenge, Oscar de la Hoya,” wrote McGregor via Twitter.
While some fight fans would salivate at the idea of McGregor actually stepping in the ring for his boxing return and taking on an outspoken combat sports figure like “Golden Boy,” the UFC is not interested in such a matchup. Few expected that the promotion would be, especially given the tumultuous history shared between De La Hoya and White, but the UFC president put a final kibosh on the potential circus act during UFC 249’s pre-fight media scrum (via MMA Fighting).
“Is f—king Oscar De La Hoya beautiful or what,” said White (shown above at the 14:02 mark). “And did he ask for a two round fight?”
White was about to add more before saving his breath and shaking his head in disbelief that he was actually discussing a potential McGregor vs. De La Hoya boxing match on the eve of UFC 249.
Sorry, Oscar.
While McGregor did make a memorable crossover to boxing back in 2017 to challenge the legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr., UFC has no plans of utilizing “Notorious” inside of the boxing ring anytime soon. At least that’s what the promotion wants you to believe.
McGregor, who has been busy taking care of Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic, made a massive return to the Octagon this past January when he clobbered Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds at UFC 249 (watch it HERE). It was McGregor’s first victory inside of the cage since capturing the UFC lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez back in 2016.
With his UFC momentum restored McGregor is hoping to take 2020 by storm and work his way back to a title shot.