Conor McGregor would have to chop a leg off to make 128lbs.
McGregor continues to prove himself one of the most unpredictable fighters on the UFC roster but even those closest to him would have raised an eyebrow following his latest call-out.
In the wee hours of Monday morning and just days after welcoming a new child into his family, McGregor bizarrely requested a mixed martial arts exhibition bout against Tenshin Nasukawa in Tokyo.
Nasukawa’s name has featured quite a lot in mainstream media recently due to his ill-fated boxing exhibition against Floyd Mayweather on New Year’s Eve, when the Japanese kickboxer was dropped three times in one round and finished in little over two minutes.
Mayweather walked away with $9 million and Nasukawa stumbled away with a headache.
Look what you've done now, Floyd! https://t.co/CMvMJqRLT7
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 7, 2019
And now McGregor apparently wants a piece.
‘The Notorious’ is eager to travel to Japan to take on Nasukawa under MMA rules and asked his management agency and the UFC to make it happen.
While it remains highly unlikely that it comes to fruition, Nasukawa has laid out his terms for sharing the ring with the Irishman.
The 20-year-old, who was significantly outsized by Mayweather, claims that he will only agree to a match-up with McGregor under kickboxing rules and the Dubliner will have to weigh in at around 128lbs.
Dear Mr. McGregor. @TheNotoriousMMA
Thank you very much for remembering my name. I’m honored that you would even consider fighting me.58kg, kickboxing rules would probably get us in the ring sometime in the near future 👍 pic.twitter.com/BTgVVnwXLA
— 那須川 天心 (@TeppenTenshin) January 7, 2019
Considering the fact that McGregor has never weighed in any lighter than 145lbs for fights in the Octagon and looked to be on death’s door on several occasions after drastic weight cuts to featherweight, it’s difficult to fathom him being able to reach a weight anywhere near Nasukawa’s demand.
And while Nasukawa is a popular figure in Japan, McGregor would very much be the A-side of any encounter, meaning he would be unlikely to bend to meet Nasukawa’s ambitious requests.
Stranger things have most definitely happened but don’t expect to see McGregor vs. Nasukawa taking place any time soon, folks.
