Stephen A. Smith disagrees with the idea of Conor McGregor facing UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Following McGregor’s admission of dealing with a staph infection during his UFC 302 training camp, Coach Javier Mendez expressed his interest in a potential bout between Makhachev and McGregor. Makhachev recently defended his title by defeating Dustin Poirier in a challenging main event.
McGregor is scheduled to make a comeback on June 29 against Michael Chandler in the main event of UFC 303, with a potential title shot on the line if he wins.
“Conor sparked some interest with Islam,” Mendez shared with Red Corner MMA. “Conor is known for drawing attention. Personally, I would like to see Islam prevail against him, following in the footsteps of Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor mentioning the staph infection was perceptive, but it may be too late to impact the outcome.”
However, Stephen A. Smith, reflecting on McGregor’s loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, believes McGregor should avoid facing Makhachev.
“I was present for the Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov fight in Vegas,” Smith mentioned on ESPN’s “First Take”. “It became clear that McGregor struggles against grapplers like Makhachev. McGregor would be wise to keep his distance from an opponent with such advanced grappling skills.”
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