Conor McGregor refutes speaking to Tyson Fury, but willing to ‘educate’ him

Heavyweight boxing star Tyson Fury has recently been hinting at a move to MMA, and even claimed that he has discussed training with UFC star Conor McGregor.

McGregor, however, says he’s never spoken to Fury in his life. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t admire and respect the boxer.

“Tyson keeps saying me and him spoke, and I said I’d train him,” McGregor told BT Sport this week (via MMA Junkie). “I never spoke to Tyson in my life, so I don’t know why he’s saying that.”

While McGregor has yet to discuss a training arrangement with Fury, he does believe the boxer is sincere about his interest in moving to MMA.

“Tyson’s a good man. I like Tyson,” McGregor said. “He’s a great boxer, a phenomenal boxer, probably the best natural boxer in the heavyweight division at this time. So who knows. I wouldn’t say he is just saying he’d do it and not do it like a lot of them do. I’d say Tyson would probably do it in time, so you never know.

“But I found it funny that he said we talked and all this. He’s a madman Tyson. I never spoke to the man in my life.”

If Fury does commit to a move to MMA, and contacts McGregor for help, it sounds like the door will be open, though perhaps not in the way you’d expect.

“Maybe we could set something up. I wouldn’t be holding mitts for him or anything, but if he wanted to be trained by me or even educated by me, I’d need to see him in certain positions, in certain situations,” McGregor said. “I need him to spar heavyweights. I need to see him deal with the leg kicks. I need to see him in bottom position, and then I’d assess that, and then I’d send them off, and then I would tell him what work he needs to do, and then off he goes. That would probably be something I could do for Tyson.”

Tyson Fury is currently gearing up for a February 22 rematch with Deontay Wilder. McGregor, meanwhile, is days out from a high-stakes showdown with Donald Cerrone.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/15/2020.