LAS VEGAS - UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor held off on committing to a UFC return, but said he's got options for his future.
"I have many options in MMA,"McGregor told MMAjunkie at the press conference for "The Money Fight," which followed his 10th round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. "I'm sure there's options that will present themselves in the boxing game. Right now, I'm a free agent. My name is on the ring."
A little loose from his eponymous whiskey, McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC, 0-1 boxing) spoke proudly of his effort against Mayweather (50-0 boxing) and his ability to get his name on the canvas as a promoter of the lucrative Showtime pay-per-view.
"I'll see what's next, but I'm open," McGregor said. "I love a good fight, and tonight was a damn good fight. I can't tell you exactly what's next, but something will be next."
UFC President Dana White hopes that something will take place in the octagon, where McGregor has yet to defend his lightweight title and never defended his previously held featherweight belt. In his wake, an interim lightweight title bout is scheduled for UFC 216 between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee, and contenders are chomping at the bit.
But more pressing on McGregor's mind is a little rest and relaxation to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Guaranteed $30 million for his loss to Mayweather - who takes home $100 million before bonuses - and a cut of pay-per-view profits, the fight already is the biggest paycheck of his career.
That's one possible reason McGregor might hold off on MMA to take another boxing fight, but nothing is for sure.
"The check is alright," he said. "The check's not bad. But I've already been raising the MMA checks. I'm still going to raise the MMA checks when I go back there."
The only sour notes for the Irish champ came from the fight's stoppage, which he said was a little early. And then there were the scorecards for the fight, where two of three judges had it eight rounds to one for Mayweather.
"I think that's very biased," McGregor said. "I'm actually shocked at that. I thought I won the first three rounds clearly. The fourth round could be argued either way. Let's say 3-1.
"He started to take over, and then I thought I snuck in Round 8. Then he won nine and got the stoppage in 10. So what's that, 5-4? But in reality, all that means nothing. He got the win.
"I would have liked to have seen the final bell. I think I deserved to see the final bell, but what can you do? You can say what you want, but I worked so hard for this. I worked my (expletive) ass off."
And now, he'll take a breather before deciding his next step. He's got options - and he's flush with cash.
For complete coverage of "The Money Fight: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor," check out the MMA Events section of the site.
"I have many options in MMA,"McGregor told MMAjunkie at the press conference for "The Money Fight," which followed his 10th round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. "I'm sure there's options that will present themselves in the boxing game. Right now, I'm a free agent. My name is on the ring."
A little loose from his eponymous whiskey, McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC, 0-1 boxing) spoke proudly of his effort against Mayweather (50-0 boxing) and his ability to get his name on the canvas as a promoter of the lucrative Showtime pay-per-view.
"I'll see what's next, but I'm open," McGregor said. "I love a good fight, and tonight was a damn good fight. I can't tell you exactly what's next, but something will be next."
UFC President Dana White hopes that something will take place in the octagon, where McGregor has yet to defend his lightweight title and never defended his previously held featherweight belt. In his wake, an interim lightweight title bout is scheduled for UFC 216 between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee, and contenders are chomping at the bit.
But more pressing on McGregor's mind is a little rest and relaxation to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Guaranteed $30 million for his loss to Mayweather - who takes home $100 million before bonuses - and a cut of pay-per-view profits, the fight already is the biggest paycheck of his career.
That's one possible reason McGregor might hold off on MMA to take another boxing fight, but nothing is for sure.
"The check is alright," he said. "The check's not bad. But I've already been raising the MMA checks. I'm still going to raise the MMA checks when I go back there."
The only sour notes for the Irish champ came from the fight's stoppage, which he said was a little early. And then there were the scorecards for the fight, where two of three judges had it eight rounds to one for Mayweather.
"I think that's very biased," McGregor said. "I'm actually shocked at that. I thought I won the first three rounds clearly. The fourth round could be argued either way. Let's say 3-1.
"He started to take over, and then I thought I snuck in Round 8. Then he won nine and got the stoppage in 10. So what's that, 5-4? But in reality, all that means nothing. He got the win.
"I would have liked to have seen the final bell. I think I deserved to see the final bell, but what can you do? You can say what you want, but I worked so hard for this. I worked my (expletive) ass off."
And now, he'll take a breather before deciding his next step. He's got options - and he's flush with cash.
For complete coverage of "The Money Fight: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor," check out the MMA Events section of the site.
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