Conor McGregor Comments on Floyd Mayweather, UFC, More in Manchester Interview

Conor McGregor is never shy about saying what's on his mind, and that continued Saturday in an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting in Manchester, England.

The reigning UFC lightweight champion discussed a variety of topics, but his thoughts on a potential bout against boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. were perhaps the most intriguing.

"I have my eyes on one thing right now, and that's Floyd Mayweather," McGregor said. "That fight is more than just being explored. There's a lot of steps, but it's the fight to make. It's the fight I want. I believe this is the first billion fight, so people have to pay for a billion dollar fight. I believe it will happen at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year."

Not only did he say his next fight will be in a boxing ring, but McGregor explained that a bout against Mayweather "would be the easiest fight ever."

Later that night, Dana White responded to McGregor, per MMAFighting.com, saying a fight there's "as much of a chance of McGregor-Mayweather happening as Dana being the backup for Tom Brady."

"If McGregor wants to go down that road with us, it’ll be an epic fall," White added, per MMAFighting.com.

Although the Irish star is a great striker, he is planning to face a boxer who was 49-0 in his career before retiring.

Beyond the struggles that could come from transitioning between sports for McGregor, getting Mayweather to agree to a fight likely won't be too easy.  

Meanwhile, the 39-year-old boxer isn't the only enemy McGregor has discussed lately. He also questioned his own league's lack of popularity.

"There's more people here than currently at the UFC event right now," he said. "That should tell you everything you need to know. Right now there's something humongous that needs to be done, and it doesn't really involve them, even though they think it does."

With one star in Ronda Rousey fading (perhaps into permanent retirement) and another one considering a move to boxing, it doesn't bode well for the fast-growing league. The Notorious also left the door open for a possible move to WWE, notably saying, "Never say never."

At the least, fans should follow McGregor news in 2017 because the 28-year-old has a lot of possibilities in his future.