“I'm not getting in the damn octagon.” Crawford explained why he refused to fight McGregor in MMA

WBA light middleweight champion Terence Crawford shared why he declined to fight former UFC champion Conor McGregor in an MMA bout.

Quote: "I told Conor, 'Hell no. Man, I’m not getting in the damn octagon with you so you can kick me, elbow me, and do all that crazy stuff.'

He started laughing and said, 'Man, I respect that. You respect my sport, just like I respect yours. You understand that if you step into the octagon, you’ll be at a disadvantage, just like if I step into the boxing ring, I’d be at a disadvantage.'

Then he said, 'But we’ll make a lot of money.' I replied, 'Yeah, but sometimes it's not all about the money. I can make money, but you’re not gonna kick me, man. Kicks and elbows, man, that’s no joke,'" Crawford explained.

Reminder: At the end of June, McGregor was supposed to return to the octagon and face American Michael Chandler at UFC 303. However, the fight was canceled due to an injury McGregor sustained—breaking a toe.

McGregor hasn’t fought in MMA since the summer of 2021, when he lost at UFC 263 to American Dustin Poirier, suffering a broken leg during the bout.

By the way, the head of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, Turki Al-Sheikh, recently mentioned that he wants to arrange a fight between Crawford and Vergil Ortiz.