Tenshin Nasukawa Responds to Conor McGregor's Fight Request in Instagram Post

Tenshin Nasukawa has said he would relish the chance to take on Conor McGregor in a kickboxing contest.

McGregor took to Twitter on Monday saying he would like to face Nasukawa in the future despite the fact the Japanese kickboxer was beaten emphatically by Floyd Mayweather in a recent three-round boxing fight.

In response, Nasukawa said on his Instagram account he would be keen to face the Irishman and laid out some potential stipulations for the contest:

"Dear Mr. McGregor. Thank you very much for remembering my name. I’m honored that you would even consider fighting me. 

"58kg, kickboxing rules would probably get us in the ring sometime in the near future. I will fight my RISE world GP this year so please watch your diet and wait for me!"

McGregor had posted the following bulletin earlier in the day:

Nasukawa's showdown with Mayweather proved to be a farcical affair on New Year's Eve, as the latter was far too physical and canny for his rival. 

In a boxing bout, Mayweather knocked his opponent down three times in the opening two minutes before Nasukawa's corner threw in the towel. While the fight wasn't registered on the competitive record of either man, it proved to be an easy night's work for Money at Rizin 14:

The Japanese was always going to be an underdog for that showdown given his background is in kickboxing and MMA. If he was to come up against McGregor in the former discipline, he may fancy his chances.

However, the fight being made on the conditions put forward by Nasukawa appear unlikely. After all, McGregor has moved away from the featherweight (65.8kg) division in his most recent showdowns in the UFC; his last outing in that class was against Jose Aldo in December 2015.

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If this one was to go ahead, it would complete a triangle of fights between Nasukawa, Mayweather and McGregor. The latter two went head-to-head in the summer of 2017, with McGregor losing via a 10th-round stoppage on what was his professional boxing debut.

As such, you wouldn't rule out the Irishman, who lost his last fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, trying something new in the form of kickboxing, albeit at a much higher weight than the one proposed by the 20-year-old star.

Nasukawa has a perfect record in kickboxing, winning all of his 28 bouts. He also has four MMA wins from four fights on his record.