Terence Crawford Denies $200 Million Conor McGregor Offer Was Real

Terence Crawford has stated that he was never presented with a serious offer to fight Conor McGregor. Next weekend, Conor McGregor is set to make his return to the cage when he rematches Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 in Las Vegas. This marks McGregor’s first fight in five years, and as part of his promotional efforts, he has been actively participating in media appearances. A few weeks ago, while discussing his upcoming fight, McGregor asserted that Turki Al-Sheikh had offered both him and boxing standout Terence Crawford $200 million to engage in a pair of crossover contests, one in boxing and another in MMA. However, Crawford has refuted this claim, stating, “That was a lie,” Crawford told Yahoo Sports. “It was cap. It wasn’t never no $200 million offer.” Crawford elaborated that while the idea was broached on FaceTime, there was no formal offer made. “They asked me would I do it, and I told them, ‘You ain’t about to be kicking on me, Conor.’ We were on FaceTime, and I did tell him that. But they didn’t say, ‘Hey, you got $200 million. You fight him in boxing and MMA.’ That was never the case. … If it was said to me, I could say there was an offer, but if nothing is previewed to me, I can’t say what is what. He’s making up numbers, in my head.”

Instead of pursuing such a bout, Crawford continued his boxing career, establishing himself as a dominant force and arguably the premier boxer of his generation, eventually retiring from the sport as the top pound-for-pound fighter. Reflecting on the hypothetical situation, Crawford, who possesses some grappling experience from his youth wrestling days, indicated that he would have accepted a genuine offer of that magnitude. “I would have done it. Why wouldn’t I?” Crawford stated. “I don’t need to do it [now]. Back then, it would have been a good deal. Right now, where I’m sitting at right now, I don’t need to do it. I’m in a different space in my life right now where I don’t have to take those fights. Back then, I probably would have took it. I would have been like, ‘Alright, let’s do it.’ “Conor’s not the best wrestler. I’m not saying I’m the best wrestler either, though, but I know standing up, it’s only going to take one good shot, and I’m going to put him to sleep. He’s going to try to kick me, and takedowns, we’re just going to do what we do.” Unfortunately for fans hoping to see such a contest, that opportunity has passed. Crawford concluded his illustrious boxing career last year following his victory over Canelo Alvarez, becoming only the second male boxer in history to achieve undisputed championship status in three different weight classes. With such a monumental legacy already secured, “Bud,” as he is known, indicated that he has no intentions of returning to active competition. “I’m happily retired, and I don’t see myself coming back,” Crawford confirmed. “Done done.”

In other combat sports news, Shogun Rua explained his perspective on fighting Glover Teixeira outside of the UFC, expressing satisfaction with how the situation resolved, stating, “It worked out for the best.” Diego Lopes finds himself in a challenging position at featherweight and has expressed a desire for his next fight to be against a top UFC lightweight. Justin Gaethje conveyed his belief that winning a UFC undisputed title was achievable despite previous setbacks, noting, “I never really lost hope.” Manel Kape addressed his recent conflict with Sean Strickland, despite both training at the same gym, commenting, “He loves attention.”

Under the video section, there are several interviews and breakdowns available. These include an interview with Max Holloway, an interview with Dan Ige, insights into Paddy Pimblett’s diet, and Jack Slack’s breakdown of the McGregor-Holloway 1 fight. The social media section features various posts from fighters. Michael Johnson reacted to a World Cup event, posting, “World Cup. That’s hatred. Red card??? @FIFAcom cmon #usa.” Alan Jouban shared his excitement about a celebration, stating, “What a scene as 🇺🇸🇺🇸USA🇺🇸🇺🇸 celebrates.” Julian Marquez commented on his experience watching soccer for the first time, noting, “This is really my first time watching soccer… it felt like I was watching who could be the most dramatic when someone would fall or lose the ball…. (not talking about this player you see down below.)” Michael Venom Page expressed admiration for a goalkeeper’s performance, tweeting, “The DRC keeper is having the game of his life 🙌🏾 jheeez.” Arnold Allen remarked on the performance, saying, “It’s the friggin defensive republic of Congo, fair play.” Ryan Garcia posted a cryptic “🤫” with a picture. Georges St-Pierre wished his fellow Canadians a Happy Canada Day with a photo. Chael Sonnen responded to an idea, calling it, “Damn, Chael. Profoundly stupid idea. I’m shocked. Were you kidding?”

Fight announcements for UFC 330 on August 15 include Erin Blanchfield (14-2) against Jasmine Jasudavicius (15-4), Edson Barboza (24-14) versus Esteban Ribovics (15-3), Mansur Abdul-Malik (9-1-1) facing Dustin Stoltzfus (16-8), Jeremiah Wells (13-4-1) matched with Myktybek Orolbai (16-2-1), Geoff Neal (16-8) set to fight Chidi Njokuani (25-12), Neil Magny (31-14) booked against Ramiz Brahimaj (13-6), and Jalin Turner (15-9) scheduled to compete against Kaue Fernandes (11-2).

In final thoughts, the author extends birthday wishes to America, noting that due to the upcoming holiday, there will be no Morning Report the following day. Readers are wished a safe and enjoyable holiday, with a promise to resume on Monday to commence UFC 329 Fight Week. Readers are encouraged to submit any content they wish to see featured in the Morning Report by contacting @AlexanderKLee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter. Finally, MMAFighting promotes its various social media channels, including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and Facebook.