UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor is only days away from his rematch with Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi, as the main event of the UFC 257 pay-per-view card.
McGregor has been away from the octagon since January of 2020.
He retired from MMA months later, but not many fans took that retirement seriously - since McGregor had retired several times in the past.
But already looking ahead, McGregor wants to return to the sport of boxing to face eight division champion Manny Pacquiao.
McGregor made his boxing debut in August of 2017, when he suffered a stoppage loss at the hands of Floyd Mayweather at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Mayweather started slow and eventually broke McGregor down for a TKO win in the tenth round.
Last year, he began calling loudly for a boxing match with Pacquiao.
The two athletes are represented by the same management company - and there are currently ongoing talks to make that fight in 2021, according to McGregor.
"I need to keep my options open. The talks have been intensifying. There are behind-closed-doors talks. Let's see how it goes. I would like my UFC career to get going, I am going to put a stint into this 155-pound division, a correct proper run at it, exactly like I did to the featherweights and maul every single one of them, no messing, full focus, show them what's what," McGregor told BT Sport.
"The Manny and the little treasure chests that are there, I'll keep them there for sure and I am ready for them also. Let's see what happens."
The 42-year-old Pacquiao has been out of the ring since July of 2019, when he turned back the clock and won a hard-fought twelve round split decision win over Keith Thurman to capture the WBA welterweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
