Conor McGregor: Floyd Mayweather has ‘strong tools’ he could bring to MMA

Conor McGregor gained a new respect for Floyd Mayweather after going battle to him. So much so, McGregor believes the all-time boxing great might be able to make a smoother transition to mixed martial arts than he previously thought, if Mayweather chose to.

“I always told him he was not a fighter but a boxer,” McGregor wrote Thursday morning on Instagram. “But sharing the ring with him he is certainly a solid fighter. Strong in the clinch. Great understanding of frames and head position. He has some very strong tools he could bring into an MMA game for sure.”

McGregor, 29, credited Mayweather for his performance last Saturday night. Mayweather, an all-time boxing great, defeated McGregor, the UFC lightweight champion and neophyte pro boxer, by TKO in the 10th round. Mayweather ever crossing over to MMA in the UFC seems highly unlikely, as the 40-year-old retired from boxing following the fight in Las Vegas.

“Congrats to Floyd on a well fought match,” McGregor said. “Very experienced and methodical in his work. I wish him well in retirement. He is a heck of a boxer. His experience, his patience and his endurance won him this fight hands down.”

Once again, McGregor addressed his issue with cardio. He was out of steam after the first few rounds, admittedly so. But did rally a bit in the 8th before Mayweather took over for good. One judge had McGregor winning the first three rounds. “The Notorious” said if he had some more time, he might have been able to extend his cardiovascular capabilities longer.

“I had an amazing team and It truly was an amazing and enjoyable camp, and honestly I feel with just a little change in certain areas of the prep, we could have built the engine for 12 full rounds under stress, and got the better result on the night,” McGregor wrote. “Getting to 12 rounds alone in practice was always the challenge in this camp. We started slowly getting to the 12 and decreasing the stress in the rounds the closer it got to 12. I think for the time we had, 10 weeks in camp, it had to be done this way.”

In MMA, McGregor will only ever be asked to go five, five-minute rounds. The Mayweather matchup was 12, three-minute rounds. It makes a difference — especially when Mayweather, the crafty veteran, is attacking to the body with stiff blows.

“If I began with a loaded 12 rounds under much stress I would have only hit a brick wall and lost progress as a result and potentially not made the fight,” McGregor said. “A little more time and we could have made the 12 cleanly, while under more stress, and made it thru the later rounds in the actual fight. I feel every decision we made at each given time was the correct decision, and I am proud of everyone of my team for what we done in the short time that we done it.”