Conor McGregor outlines Canelo Alvarez terms as steps taken for UFC return

MMA superstar Conor McGregor has laid down the gauntlet to boxer Canelo Alvarez by insisting that taking on the Mexican at his own sport is “no f*****g problem”. But the former UFC champion has told Eddie Hearn that he would need to agree to a co-promotion of the fight at best.

McGregor has stepped into the ring before, making his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather in 2017 – a contest that the latter won in ten rounds.

UFC fans have been deprived of seeing the Irishman in action since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in the pair’s 2021 summer trilogy bout, but he is now closing in on a return.

And although there has been no suggestion that he will receive dispensation from UFC to face Alvarez in a boxing match, McGregor has set the tone for a possible match-up regardless, after studying the unsuccessful performances of fellow southpaw fighters Billy Joe Saunders and John Ryder against the Mexican.

McGregor said: “I saw Ryder, I’m a southpaw, Ryder was a southpaw, Billy Joe was a southpaw, I’ve seen methods, I’ve seen things I’d do. I know he’s waining, I’d fight Canelo no f****g problem. Out straight. No problem.”

Renowned promoter Hearn has been working with Alvarez for three years, but McGregor, who, at 34, is two years older than his prospective opponent, jokingly suggested that he would have to settle for just half of any deal at best, saying: “You know the level I’m at, at best co-promote! At best co-promote.”

McGregor has a good relationship with Hearn already. He sponsored Katie Taylor’s homecoming fight on Saturday, where she was defeated by Chantelle Cameron for the undisputed super-lightweight crown, via his McGregor’s Forged Irish Stout and Tidl recovery spray brands.

“I love him, he’s clued in, he’s in tune and he’s committed to the fighters and the sport and he’s very, very passionate and you can tell all day,” said McGregor at his Black Forge Inn pub. “It’s great to do business with him, great to be partnered with him, great to be friends with him and that’s it. He’s a top man.”

McGregor is expected to restart his UFC career after United States Anti-Doping Agency officials confirmed on Friday that McGregor is set to rejoin UFC’s anti-doping programme for drug testing ahead of his next fight. Officials released a statement after McGregor said “that’s done” when asked if he would be returning to the testing pool.

UFC’s rules stipulate that fighters who retire or remove themselves from the testing pool must undergo drug testing for a six-month period before they can competitively return to the sport.

A statement issued to MMA Fighting read: “We have recently been in direct contact with Conor McGregor, and as he confirmed today in the media, we expect to receive his paperwork coming out of retirement and re-entering the USADA testing pool immediately.”

McGregor’s first opponent is expected to be his fellow Ultimate Fighter 31 coach Michael Chandler, but a date is yet to be set. It is currently unclear how any prospective boxing bout with Alvarez would impact his return to UFC.