Conor McGregor's Next Fight Shouldn't Be Rematch vs. Floyd Mayweather

Conor McGregor couldn't handle Floyd Mayweather Jr. during Saturday's boxing megafight in Las Vegas, and he shouldn't try again in the future.

Mayweather moved to a perfect 50-0 on Saturday with a technical knockout in the 10th round, taking over the fight in the middle rounds and then overwhelming McGregor even though the latter built early momentum. 

As is the case with any marquee boxing match, attention naturally turns to a potential rematch in the aftermath. However, this is one rematch McGregor in particular should avoid.

For one, there is the spectacle angle of the ordeal. This cross-sport bout seemed like a media-driven circus from the beginning, and the long-expected result of the undefeated boxer beating the UFC fighter in a boxing match is what fans were left with Saturday.

While a rematch would draw interest, the old plot lines and rehashed stories would quickly grow stale. The pre-fight media tour generated massive coverage and headlines as the two exchanged barbs and criticized each other, but it would just be more of the same in a rematch.

What's more, the unique angles of Mayweather's coming out of retirement specifically for this fight and McGregor's first professional boxing match of his career would no longer be in play.

UFC president Dana White called Saturday's match "the biggest fight ever" during a conference call, via Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports, and Luke Brown of The Independent wrote "the fight stands to become the most lucrative in the history of combat sports, with both men expected to earn over $100 [million] for agreeing to the bout."

Running it back simply couldn't match the pageantry and hype of Saturday's bout, but there is more to this than just the failure to replicate the spectacle.

Mayweather is an all-time great and proved he is a better boxer than McGregor on Saturday. Money has nothing left to prove, especially against someone who made a career as a UFC fighter and already lost to him once.

If McGregor is going to transition into boxing as more of a full-time endeavor, he now has the opportunity to follow a more traditional route and fight against lower-quality competition and gradually work his way up.

He suggested to reporters he is far from a one-and-done boxer before Saturday, per Dave Doyle of MMAFighting.com.

"I love the sport of boxing," McGregor said. "Boxing has been dear to my heart my whole, entire life. I will contend in boxing bouts going forward, and I will contend in mixed martial arts bouts going forward. I will rule both with an iron fist, and that's where my mindset is."

Starting at the top was clearly too much for McGregor to handle given Saturday's result, and that is no fault of his. Mayweather is a perfect 50-0 and has proved too quick and too capable on defense for every boxer he's fought, including some of the best of this generation.

Losing to him again wouldn't do much to advance McGregor's early boxing career when there are potential victories to be had.

There is also the business of convincing Mayweather to fight again and ironing out the details for a rematch. Mayweather came out of retirement for this fight and moved his record to 50-0, surpassing Rocky Marciano's 49-0 mark in the process. That 50th win represented a historical landmark, but a 51st win isn't nearly as enticing of a carrot to dangle.

Mayweather would still have everything to lose and even less to gain in a rematch with McGregor after he already proved he can beat the UFC fighter.

What's more, McGregor apparently wasn't even ready for another boxing match against anyone, let alone Mayweather after the fight. "Of course," he said when commentator Jim Gray asked him if he would return to UFC, via Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting.

All signs indicate McGregor would be best off focusing his attention elsewhere—be it UFC or another boxing opponent—after Saturday's loss instead of pursuing a rematch with the undefeated Mayweather.