Islam Makhachev's Next Challenge: Boxing Match with Conor McGregor?
Islam Makhachev walked out of UFC 330 with his welterweight title intact and a 17th straight win on his record, but not without a price. The champion revealed he took real damage in the victory over Ian Garry and has since gone through multiple MRI scans, with doctors now zeroing in on lingering spinal issues that need attention.
So the next opponent, at least in the short term, is rehab.
When he does return, the queue is already forming. Carlos Prates. Michael Morales. Hungry contenders, fresh legs, waiting for their shot at the Dagestani who has turned winning into a habit. Inside the cage, the path is clear: defend, dominate, repeat.
Outside it, the picture is suddenly far more intriguing.
A Saudi pitch and an Irish wildcard
At the recent Zuffa 9 boxing event in August, Makhachev found himself ringside in a very different kind of fight environment. There, Saudi power broker Turki Alalshikh did what he does best: stir the pot.
Alalshikh put Conor McGregor on a video call. The idea surfaced quickly and loudly — Makhachev vs. McGregor, not in the Octagon, but in a boxing ring.
It sounded wild at first. Then Makhachev kept talking about it.
He has now doubled down on the possibility of facing McGregor under boxing rules, making it clear this wouldn’t be a cash-grab in his mind. Money matters in boxing, he acknowledged, but it won’t be the lever that moves him toward or away from the fight.
The Dagestani spoke to Ushatayka and cut straight to the core of the matchup: how dangerous is McGregor now, especially after his recent ACL and meniscus surgery and a body worn down by years of high-profile wars?
“Well, if I say he's not dangerous at all, it would be wrong,” Makhachev replied. “Yes, maybe he's dangerous in the first round, but after that I don't think he has any chance.”
That’s the respect of a fellow professional, laced with the quiet confidence of a champion who believes his engine, his timing, and his evolution on the feet would break McGregor down over time.
Boxing money, MMA mentality
The interviewer pushed the obvious angle next: the purse. Seven figures? Eight? Somewhere in that neighborhood?
“I don't know. When it comes to boxing, they pay very good money,” Makhachev said.
Then he stripped away any suggestion that he’d only cross over for a life-changing payday.
“I don't know. Honestly, regardless of the purse I'd box. Specifically against Conor, yes.”
That line matters. It hints at something beyond a simple crossover spectacle. For Makhachev, a boxing bout with McGregor isn’t just about zeros on a check; it’s about the challenge, the stage, and the chance to test his striking against one of the sport’s most famous punchers, even if that puncher is no longer at his peak.
McGregor’s fading prime, enduring threat
McGregor is deep into the back nine of his career. The brutal ACL and meniscus tear he suffered in his comeback fight at UFC 329 only added to a long list of injuries and layoffs. The speed that once shocked featherweights, the sharpness that dismantled champions — those weapons don’t cut quite as cleanly anymore.
But his name still does.
McGregor remains one of the most recognizable strikers in combat sports, and he has already shown he can survive, and at times thrive, in a boxing ring. His 2017 clash with Floyd Mayweather went 10 rounds, a spectacle that turned into a global event and proved McGregor could at least function in that world, even if Mayweather ultimately took over and closed the show.
That was almost a decade ago. Since then, the Irishman has absorbed punishment, endured surgeries, and watched the game move on without him.
Makhachev, by contrast, has been moving in the opposite direction. His striking has sharpened significantly over the course of his UFC run, evolving from a functional complement to his grappling into a genuine weapon. The timing, the composure, the shot selection — all trending upward while McGregor’s physical tools fight the clock.
On paper, the two now stand at very different points on their career arcs.
A long shot with loud potential
A boxing match between Islam Makhachev and Conor McGregor remains, for now, more concept than contract. There are hurdles everywhere: promotions, timing, health, and McGregor’s own uncertain competitive future.
But Turki Alalshikh has turned long shots into reality before. If he decides this is the next blockbuster he wants to stage, the conversation changes overnight.
Makhachev has opened the door. McGregor’s name still carries weight. The styles, the storylines, the stakes — they all point to a crossover clash that would ignite debate from MMA gyms in Dagestan to boxing gyms in Dublin.
The champion will first have to mend his spine and clear his plate at welterweight. If the call comes after that, and the ring is in Saudi Arabia under bright lights and boxing rules, one question will hang over it all:
Is McGregor’s first-round danger enough to overcome Makhachev’s new-found confidence on the feet — or would this be the night the old star finally runs out of rounds?
