Islam Makhachev Thinks Conor McGregor Is ‘Too Drunk’ To Return At Lightweight
Islam Makhachev believes Conor McGregor will have a tough time making the lightweight limit for his UFC return.
In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto from ESPN MMA, the Dagestani was asked about Dana White mentioning that it’s very possible that Conor McGregor could fight for the lightweight title next.
“I think this is fake” said Makhachev.
“It’s going to be hard for him to make 155 (lightweight) because he is drunk all day. A lot of people are going to smash him in the division. He’s just going to fight with Nate Diaz or some old people, for some money. That’s it, he’s never going to be champion.” He added.
Conor McGregor has been vocal in the past few months about his desire to commit fully to his training and perhaps put away the bottle while doing so.
In response to McGregor’s tweets recently about challenging Makhachev for a future fight, the lightweight said with a smile.
“Yeah I saw that. Let’s go. Let’s do it.”
Makhachev has a feeling despite the recent callout from “Notorious”, the Irishman has no intention of getting into the octagon with him.
“He’s just playing a game; he’s never going to take this fight,” said Makhachev.
Islam believes that if they did get locked into the cage, the result might be worse than the time McGregor fought his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is set to enter the UFC Hall of Fame in July.
“When he fought with Khabib, he was in good shape, not drunk. I think he have to retire, he has good money, but if he really wants to come back, lets do it. I will be happy to smash him.”
It’s unknown whether Conor McGregor will come back to fight at 155 or 170, but the possibilities are endless for the first-ever double champ.
Islam Makhachev still has eyes set on the lightweight title
Although Dana White may have recently said Islam Makhachev has to fight Beneil Dariush before he gets his shot at the title, the Russian still believes he still is next up. He said that he wanted to take the Rafael Dos Anjos fight at UFC 272 on short notice, but the UFC couldn’t fulfill his “small condition”. He did not reveal what the condition was, but he made sure it wasn’t about a reported $1,000,000 that some believed was his asking price.
The lightweight seems unfazed if he must go through Dariush because inevitably he believes regardless of who they put in front of him, he will be champion.
He left a message for the welterweight division as well saying,
“I’m going to take this belt and defend it like 3-5x and I’m going to come to the welterweight division”
Makhachev sat cage side at UFC 272 and said he wasn’t impressed by the performances of both Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal and believes he could beat both.
“Colby he just has wrestling. I can beat him very easy. His striking is too slow.” Makhachev added.
Luckily for the 170lb division, Makhachev still has unfinished business at 155.
You can watch the full interview here:
