Amir Khan has reiterated his desire to move into MMA, and is the latest to call out Conor McGregor. He's not the first, and he certainly won't be the last.
We heard Amir Khan talk about fighting Conor McGregor in May - back when we didn't know what was going on with the Dubliner, and there were rumours of a potential fight with Floyd Mayweather. Khan has always maintained an interest in MMA though, and last night's comments do seem to suggest there's a little bit more substance to what he was saying.
In an interview with Flocombat, Khan reiterated that he'd love to fight McGregor:
It just depends on the weight category. But look, as a fighter, that's a fight I would take. McGregor is a massive name in MMA, and I'm a big name in boxing, so globally, I think it would be a massive fight. Sometimes, you have to put friendship aside and you have to take it in the cage or in the ring. But yeah, if that fight comes up to me, I'm not one to back away from it.
What is surprising though, is how the fight would happen. When the rumours of Mayweather and McGregor started - it was McGregor who was expected to step out of the octagon and into the boxing ring. Khan though, wants a crack in MMA, saying how long he'd need to get ready for the fight:
Something like that would be massive. Even if I started to train MMA next year, I'd only be 30 years old. I could stop and train for a full year and become a good MMA fighter. It's in our blood to fight. I've been fighting all my life, so for me, I don't think it'd be a problem for me to learn and switch over to the sport.
In analysing the fight, Khan thinks it would come down to his boxing skills against the Dubliner, clearly overlooking all of the wrestling that happens inside the octagon:
A good boxer will always win a MMA fight--I've always said that. A good puncher will always win. You saw in the Aldo fight--he took a step back and countered him as he came in. With boxing, it's all about distance and timing, and that's something we have on our side more than MMA fighters.
Will it happen? Possibly not - but if any cross fighting does happen - it's far more likely to be Amir Khan getting involved than anyone else.
[Flocombat]
