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MMA

07th Jan 2019

Conor McGregor demands mixed martial arts exhibition bout against Tenshin Nasukawa

'The Notorious' wants to face Nasukawa before the summer

Darragh Murphy

If you thought Floyd Mayweather dwarfed Tenshin Nasukawa, just imagine what Conor McGregor would look like next to the Japanese kickboxer

It’s been a week since Tenshin Nasukawa was stopped in the first round by Floyd Mayweather in a bizarre exhibition boxing bout in Japan, with the two minutes of action sparking plenty of debate about the legitimacy of the contest which earned Mayweather a cool $9 million.

Kicks were not allowed in the match-up on New Year’s Eve but they likely would be if Conor McGregor’s wish comes true, with The Notorious’ declaring an unexpected interest in travelling to Tokyo to face off with Nasukawa in the coming months.

With McGregor’s immediate UFC future up in the air due to the wait to find out his punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission over his role in the UFC 229 melee, the Irishman has asked his management agency to set up a mixed martial arts exhibition against the Japanese youngster who is undefeated in professional kickboxing.

“I wish to go to Tokyo to face Tenshin Nasukawa in a Mixed Martial Arts exhibition bout. Before this summer,” McGregor tweeted in the early hours of Monday morning.

“Please arrange this, this instant. Yours sincerely. The champ champ.”

The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion followed up that tweet with an even more bizarre post, declaring himself the real Django and seemingly calling for no rules.

McGregor remains under contract with the UFC and it is highly unlikely that the promotion’s president, Dana White, would agree to allow his biggest cash-cow to risk injury for the benefit of a rival organisation unless there was a significant financial reward for the UFC.

White co-promoted McGregor’s boxing debut against Mayweather in 2017, when the Irishman was stopped in the 10th round by the undefeated boxing legend.