Conor McGregor’s father: Combat sports in for ‘seismic shock’ on night of Floyd Mayweather fight

Las Vegas is in for something Earth-shaking next month, according to Conor McGregor’s father.

Tony McGregor told Ariel Helwani on a recent edition of The MMA Hour that the combat sports world is in for a “seismic shock” Aug. 26 when his son takes on Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match at T-Mobile Arena. Those who are expecting Mayweather to handle McGregor, the UFC champion and neophyte pro boxer, will be stunned, he said.

“The boxing fraternity, they wrote Conor off,” Tony McGregor said. “No one in the boxing world is giving him a chance. I think what Conor is going to produce in the T-Mobile on the 26th is nothing short of a seismic shock. It’s going to reverberate right through the whole unarmed combat world. While Mayweather was the best fighter in the world — no one can take that away from him — on the 26th of August, he’s going to be the second best fighter in the world. There can only be one No. 1.”

Tony McGregor said he knew that his son would be fighting Mayweather way back before Christmas, but he couldn’t say anything about it until it officially came together last month. The idea that Conor was able to make this happen, he said, despite all the obstacles in the way — his contract with the UFC, etc. — is still awesome to him.

“The entire thing was fabricated by Conor McGregor,” Tony McGregor said. “He said he’d get this fight and no one believed him. But he got the fight. That’s what really amazes me, how he conditioned all these things, all the different tangents, all the different sinews to tie in and tie up. And it just all came together in the end. It must have been extremely difficult from a business point of view, never mind from a fighting perspective.”

McGregor, his team and the UFC came to an agreement first and then UFC president Dana White bridged the gap with Mayweather Promotions and Showtime. The pay per view will cost $100 and the revenue brought in is expected to rival the biggest combat sports events of all time. The MayMac World Tour last month, which touched four cities in four days, drew more than 50,000 people total.

Tony McGregor said he and his family have been following along with the tour and all the news from Ireland. Tony and his wife Margaret are constantly texting McGregor’s sisters and other family members about what’s going on, what Conor wore and more. They’re watching from afar as “fans,” Tony said, but he added that he often texts Conor to encourage him.

When it comes to the result of the fight, Tony McGregor is sticking with his son’s prediction: a knockout within four rounds.

“I always stick with Conor,” Tony said. “Under four. That’s what he said, that’s what he’s gonna do. He’s not called Mystic Mac for nothing. He predicts it and he produces it.”

Tony McGregor said boxing was McGregor’s first discipline going back to his youth and there is no worry in the family about this being uncharted territory. In fact, Tony said he doesn’t think Mayweather, one of the greatest boxers of all time with a 49-0 record, has anything for his son.

“I don’t think Mayweather has much to produce to cause Conor any difficulty,” Tony said. “I don't think he has the power. He has a lot of defensive moves. Conor can pick them out, he’ll wear him down. Conor has the precision, he has the power, he has that kinetic energy. I don't think Mayweather has experienced that kinetic energy. When Conor connects, I just think Mayweather is gonna fold.”