Islam Makhachev Says He Would Box Conor McGregor Regardless of Purse
Islam Makhachev said he would box Conor McGregor even if the paycheck was not the deciding factor. The UFC welterweight champion told Ushatayka that McGregor remains a threat only early, and that he would take the crossover specifically against the former two-division titleholder.
The comments add a sharper edge to talks that first surfaced this summer. Makhachev has already said Turki Alalshikh put McGregor on a video call at a boxing event and asked if the Irishman wanted to fight him in gloves.
McGregor is not in position to make that fight soon. He tore his ACL and meniscus 69 seconds into a July return against Max Holloway at UFC 329 and has said he will take nine to 12 months before competing again.
Makhachev, meanwhile, is the UFC’s pound-for-pound No. 1 at 29-1. He broke Anderson Silva’s consecutive-win record with a 17th straight victory when he defended the 170-pound title against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in August.
The interviewer asked how dangerous McGregor would be as a boxing opponent after the injuries and long layoffs. Makhachev refused to dismiss him completely.
“Well, if I say he’s not dangerous at all it would be wrong,” he said.
He then drew a hard line after the opening minutes. “Yes maybe he’s dangerous in the first round, but after that I don’t think he has any chance.”
That assessment matches the version of McGregor the UFC has seen since 2021. The former champion has not won since January 2020, broke his leg against Dustin Poirier, and lasted just over a minute in his latest comeback.
The conversation turned to money. The interviewer asked whether a boxing purse for the matchup should carry seven zeros, then eight figures.
Makhachev did not name a number. “I don’t know,” he said.
He did note that boxing pays at a different scale than most MMA cards. “When it comes to boxing, they pay very good money.”
The more revealing line came next. “Honestly, regardless of the purse I’d box.”
Asked if that applied specifically to McGregor, he did not hesitate. “Specifically against Conor, yes.”
The answer matters because Makhachev is still under UFC contract. Any boxing date would need the promotion’s approval, and Dana White was standing nearby when Alalshikh first floated the idea in August.
White laughed off the pitch at the time, according to Makhachev’s earlier account. That reaction does not close the door, but it does show the fight is still a conversation rather than a signed event.
McGregor has one fight left on his UFC deal and has pointed toward a summer 2027 return. Makhachev wants his next title defense before Ramadan begins in February, with Carlos Prates among the names he has called most deserving.
Those calendars do not line up cleanly. A boxing match would have to wait until McGregor is medically cleared and the UFC is willing to loan out its welterweight champion.
Makhachev has never claimed to be a professional boxer. He has said he is not high-level in that sport but believes he can handle himself with other MMA fighters on the feet.
McGregor’s only pro boxing appearance remains the 2017 loss to Floyd Mayweather. That history, plus the recent knee damage, is the context behind Makhachev’s first-round warning.
The Khabib Nurmagomedov camp and McGregor spent years as public enemies after UFC 229. The tone between Makhachev and McGregor has been less hostile in 2026, but the boxing talk still sits on top of that old rivalry.
Nothing in the Ushatayka interview books a date, a weight, or a promoter. It does make Makhachev’s position public: he would take McGregor in boxing, pay or no pay, and he does not expect the former champion to last if the fight leaves the first round.
The next move belongs to the UFC and to McGregor’s recovery. Until those two pieces change, Makhachev’s focus remains a welterweight title defense in early 2027, with the boxing idea waiting in the background.