- Conor McGregor is interested in getting into the ring for a bare-knuckle fight against British YouTuber, KSI.
- KSI is scheduled to face Tommy Fury on the October 14th Misfits Boxing card in Manchester, England.
- McGregor is scheduled to return to the UFC against Michael Chandler in December.
As social media influencers and fighters continue to cash in on lucrative boxing matches, Conor McGregor is desperately searching for an opponent of his own. McGregor’s latest offer was a bare-knuckle fight directed at KSI. Oddsmakers, at Bovada, responded to the news by opening McGregor as a massive -700 betting favorite.
With McGregor’s -700 odds, he has an implied probability of 87.5 percent to win. At Bovada, bettors can wager on KSI to win the fight at +400. KSI is 5-0-1 in boxing matches, with his only loss against Logan Paul in 2018.
McGregor wants in on the influencer, crossover fights while the iron is hot. There is a massive demand for these matches and there are fighters looking to find a dancing partner for a significant payday. Even fighters in the middle of their careers are looking to get involved in the hype.
WBC heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, and Francis Ngannou are planning on fighting in Saudi Arabia on October 28. Fury is an overwhelming favorite over Ngannou in the fight. Additionally, Logan Paul and Dillon Danis have agreed to fight on the October 14 boxing card, which is headlined by KSI and Tommy Fury.
In an attempt to stay in the spotlight and get paid, McGregor is throwing out multiple challenges. McGregor called out KSI following the Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius fight on August 13 in London.
McGregor Unexpectedly Takes Aim At KSI
After congratulating Joshua’s KO win over Helenius, McGregor set his sights on KSI. The YouTuber turned boxer, and Prime Hydration businessman, was sitting ringside at the fight in London. McGregor used the opportunity to promote a potential bare-knuckle match.
“I know your man KSI is in the crowd, yeah? And he couldn’t box eggs if he worked in an egg boxing factory”, said McGregor. So, if he wants to get in here, I’ll give him a final — bare-knuckle, if he wants.”
McGregor isn’t a stranger to exhibition boxing fights. In August 2017, he participated in one of the biggest of all time against Floyd Mayweather. Despite coming up short, the fight against Mayweather generated 4.3 million in domestic pay-per-view buys and eclipsed $600 million in total revenue.
Lmao just seen this. Jake Paul must be crying that I’ve got Connor on my dick already and I didn’t even have to fight an mma fighter 😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/j78OCskqsP
— ksi (@KSI) August 12, 2023
At the time, the only pay-per-view financially more successful was the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in 2015. McGregor reportedly banked $130 million from the bout. They were one of the first duos to prove that meaningless boxing matches between two big names can capture a lot of money.
Last year, there were rumblings that Mayweather and McGregor were planning a rematch, though those plans apparently fell through. Instead, McGregor might be looking at this bare-knuckle fight against KSI.
The 30-year-old Londoner did not officially accept the offer from McGregor. He did have a short response on social media, but the fight appears to be in the early preliminary stages. It’s unlikely that a bare-knuckle fight will happen this year.
Jake Paul and Canelo Alvarez Not Interested In McGregor
After beating Nate Diaz by unanimous decision last week, Jake Paul made it clear that he does not want to fight McGregor. In fact, he recommended that McGregor go to rehab instead of chasing fights.
“I don’t care about that guy. He needs to go to rehab. I want Nate in MMA. I want more professional boxers and I want Canelo,” claimed Paul in the post-fight press conference.
Paul and McGregor are both coming after Canelo Alvarez, as they hope to get a lucrative deal to fight the Mexican boxing superstar. The IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO super-middleweight champ indicated that he has other goals for his career right now. However, he is leaving the door open for a possible fight in the future.
When it comes to McGregor, Alvarez simply laughed off the interest from the 5-foot-9 Irishman. “He’s crazy! Maybe, when I retire”.
This is the second time that Alvarez acknowledged a potential fight against McGregor. In May, McGregor called out Alvarez at Katie Taylor’s boxing event in Dublin. In response, the champion boxer stated that he could beat McGregor with one hand tied behind his back.
So, there you have it, Alvarez will not entertain exhibition and crossover fights until he is finished adding to his legacy. Currently, Alvarez is preparing for a huge showdown against Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas next month.
McGregor Expected To Return To UFC In December
As McGregor puts out multiple feelers for a crossover fight, he is scheduled to meet with Michael Chandler in the Octagon later this year. While nothing has been made official, it is expected to be his first fight in the UFC since losing to Dustin Poirier in 2021.
The 35-year-old veteran has lost three of his previous MMA matches, including the loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov on October 6, 2018. He responded with a win over Donald Cerrone two years later, but dropped back-to-back fights against Poirier before going on a hiatus.
Currently, McGregor is a slight favorite over Chandler at -115 odds. The oddsmakers suggest that McGregor vs Chandler would be close to a toss-up.
However, online betting sites are not as confident in KSI beating Tommy Fury in the boxing ring. For their October bout, Fury has -350 odds to defeat KSI. With KSI and McGregor both intending to fight towards the end of the year, a bare-knuckle fight likely isn’t happening in the near future.
