Perhaps you should sit down for this bombshell we're about to drop - Conor McGregor is fairly sure of himself.
The featherweight who is leading the line of Irish flag-fliers in mixed martial arts has claimed that he would have zero difficulty with seeing off Floyd Mayweather if the pair were to scrap.
"I don't look at a man who's expert in one area as a specialist," McGregor told
Esquire. "I look at him as a rookie in ten other areas. If you can box, what happens if I grab hold of your legs? If you put me face-to-face with Floyd Mayweather—pound-for-pound boxing's best—if I fought Floyd, I would kill him in less than thirty seconds. It would take me less than thirty seconds to wrap around him like a boa constrictor and strangle him."
It's hard to argue with the theory that out-and-out boxers struggle when they're thrown into a sport in which striking is not the sole focus.
When former IBF middleweight champion James Toney took on former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Randy Couture, the boxer was taken down and submitted in just three minutes by the decorated mixed martial artist.
https://youtu.be/bEfsLhdc5R4
Less famously, former pro boxer Dashon Johsnon was sent packing from the UFC after enduring an abysmal 0-2 record with the promotion, losing both fights by submission.
So the previous is there to prove that boxers do come unstuck when met with an elite level grappler.
And
The Notorious, who will take on Jose Aldo at July's UFC 189 for the 145lb title, is not on the fence about his ideal submission and it's one with which he has finished a fight just once - the rear naked choke.
"It's the most dominant submission," he said. "You can do nothing to me, but I can do whatever the fuck I want to you," McGregor says. "I have complete control."
"Once the blood cuts from the brain, it's over."
It's a shame that Mayweather has plans on retiring this autumn because a cross-sport fight would make for amazing viewing.
