Stephen A. Smith says Conor McGregor “has no business being in the Octagon” with Islam Makhachev ever

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has no interest in a potential fight between Conor McGregor and Islam Makhachev.

After Makhachev defended his lightweight title with a fifth-round submission win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 299, he called for a chance to fight for the welterweight title. However, one fight that could happen before that is Islam Makhachev vs. Conor McGregor, this if the Irishman can beat Michael Chandler at UFC 303.

However, Stephen A. Smith doesn’t think McGregor belongs in the Octagon with Makhachev and he has no interest in seeing the hypothetical fight.

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“Shannon I was in Vegas for the Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov fight. It was one of the greatest events I’ve ever attended in my life, it was unreal. But what we learned in that fight is that Conor McGregor has no business being in the Octagon against a grappler, which is what Makhachev is. This brother right here is something special and he’s not going to try and strike against Conor McGregor,” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take.

Although Stephen A. Smith has no interest in seeing a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Conor McGregor it is a fight the UFC would likely be interested in due to how much money it would bring in. However, if it does happen, Smith doesn’t think the fight would be competitive at all as he expects Makhachev to run through McGregor with his grappling.

Conor McGregor is currently scheduled to return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC 303 against Michael Chandler. However, some fans are worried the fight might be off after the press conference in Dublin on Monday was canceled with no reason given.

McGregor hasn’t fought since July of 2021 when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier in the trilogy match. Before that, he was knocked out by Poirier in the rematch after scoring a KO win over Donald Cerrone.