Conor McGregor Reportedly ‘In Talks’ To Box Luke Keeler In December

It looks like Conor McGregor’s cryptic December fight Tweet wasn’t referring to MMA after all.

According to a report from The Irish Star (via The Sun), McGregor is “in talks” to face Irish boxing champion Luke Keeler in Dublin later this year. This comes after McGregor and Keeler’s back-and-forth following the criticism Keeler had for the UFC star when footage leaked of him hitting an old man in a pub.

The current middleweight titleholder claimed he had an exchange of words with McGregor over the phone after a series of Tweets, leading to the two agreeing to box each other. The Irish Star is reporting the “grudge match” is being targeted for December 14, the same date McGregor Tweeted out recently. Initially, fans believed McGregor was suggesting he’d make his Octagon return on that date.

However, McGregor also mentioned a Dublin location, and the UFC is holding their UFC 245 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Las Vegas that day. McGregor is 0-1 in his professional boxing career, dropping a 10th round TKO to Floyd Mayweather in 2017. He seems to have sparked a rivalry with Keeler, who comes off of a WBO European title win in March.

McGregor has not had a win in combat sports in over 1,000 days, his last being a knockout win over Eddie Alvarez in 2016. He has since suffered defeats to Mayweather, and a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov last October. McGregor would obviously need the permission of the UFC and president Dana White to participate in such a contest.

It remains to be seen if these reports prove to be accurate, and if McGregor will truly get the UFC’s blessing to fight Keeler.

Do you think McGregor will participate in another boxing fight before he competes in MMA again? And will the UFC grant McGregor permission to box again?