Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi expects Floyd Mayweather, the boxer, to defeat Conor McGregor, the mixed martial artist, when the two trade punches in a boxing match on August 26 in Las Vegas, but says the result proves nothing.
It doesn’t necessarily prove Mayweather is the better fighter of the two, nor prove boxing is the superior sport. Zahabi wants to make both of those points clear from the outset.
“I don’t think we should go in their sport,” Zahabi told Fighters Only. “I think they should come to our sport because MMA is the ultimate sport.
“Conor McGregor would destroy Mayweather in an MMA fight. It wouldn’t be a long fight. However, an MMA fighter going into boxing – that’s the wheelhouse of Mayweather.
“The ultimate combat sport is MMA, so I really think we should bring boxers to compete in our arena as opposed to their arena. But, of course, Mayweather would never dare. He’s not that dumb. He’s smart enough not to get himself killed.
“It just goes to show the best fighters in the world are in cages, not rings. I think McGregor should do it for the money because it’s going to be such a mega payday. Other than that, there’s no real reason. His odds of winning are probably slim after the first few rounds, so I pick Mayweather to win.”
Zahabi fully understands why Conor McGregor has decided to up and leave MMA, if only temporarily, in order to pursue riches with ‘Money’ Mayweather. He gets it. It makes sense. But that’s not to say Zahabi believes it was the best decision McGregor could have made this year.
“I’d rather Conor McGregor fought Georges St-Pierre, to be honest,” said Firas, the coach of Georges St-Pierre. “I think the MMA world would like that fight better than Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather.”
