Stephen A. Smith: Conor McGregor 'has no business being in the octagon' with Islam Makhachev

Stephen A. Smith does not want to see Conor McGregor fight UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

Coach Javier Mendez said he’d like Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) to fight McGregor sometime after McGregor brought light to the staph infection he endured during his UFC 302 training camp. Makhachev wound up submitting Dustin Poirier this past Saturday to retain his title in what turned out to be a grueling main event.

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is expected to return June 29 against Michael Chandler in the UFC 303 main event, with many believing a title shot could be his if he’s victorious.

“Conor goes and starts on a rant, starting to create drama with Islam,” Mendez told Red Corner MMA. “Which is kind of good because Conor’s the kind of guy you want to root against or root for. Regardless, everybody wants to see him, Me, I want to see him get beat by Islam.

“So, for me, him doing what he’s doing is causing a lot of attention, so there wouldn’t be nothing better for me and Khabib (Nurmagomedov) than to have Islam have a fight with him somewhere down the line. He brought that staph up, which is very observant on his part, to be honest with you. The only thing is that he observed it way too late. At the time he mentioned it, it was already three weeks past.”

However, after seeing Khabib Nurmagomedov dominate and submit McGregor in their title fight in 2018, Smith believes McGregor should want no part of Makhachev.

“I was in Vegas for the Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov fight,” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take” (h/t Championship Rounds). “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.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.