Conor McGregor vs Amir Khan: UFC pioneer Royce Gracie backs boxer to make transition

The Bolton welterweight is rumoured to be considering a superfight against the UFC featherweight champion

Gracie believes Khan could make the transition to the Octagon (Getty)

Recently it’s been in the news, Amir Khan, the British boxer, is willing to face Conor McGregor in the Octagon. Do you feel it’s merely another publicity stunt, because these days in the combat sports world it’s somewhat become a circus like Wrestlemania to promote fights and fighters?

I’m glad that Amir Khan is making a transition and if he learns some grappling, he’s got very good hands and power, he can do it. Anybody can do MMA, you just got to train for it.

In your opinion how long would it take for someone of his calibre? Because grappling is very intricate, you can’t pick it up in three months, what would your advice be?

I don’t believe in good students or bad students. I believe in good teachers and bad teachers. So if there is a good teacher out there that can teach him, he’s a professional athlete, he could pick it up very fast. So if he puts his mind into it, he can do it. It’s hard to give a time, but it’s doable.

If this fight was to happen who would your money be on?

If it was a boxing match I’d put my money on Amir Khan. But a MMA match, it’s a totally different ball game. Because McGregor’s been training for a long time already, so he’s smart, he’s very good. He’s top right now. Amir Khan right now wouldn’t stand a chance against him, sorry. Not in a MMA match.

But, having said that, anything can happen, there’s only one way to find out. There is a big difference, if you put the best MMA fighter in the boxing ring to fight a top boxer boxing rules it’s a totally different ball game. Or a karate fighter to fight tae kwon do rules or fight boxing rules. A boxer to fight tae kwon do rules, it’s totally different, man.

What’s your opinion on Amir making this transition into promoting MMA? Back in the day, boxing promoters did not allow their superstar champions to promote the UFC in any way because it would put a dent in their fan base. Has he done the right thing business wise to venture into India getting involved with the MMA League?

I’m glad that a fighter of his calibre is out to promote MMA.

Back in 1993, Royce Gracie challenged Mike Tyson to a no holds barred fight in the Octagon. I heard Tyson say if he faced you, he wouldn’t have had a chance in hell against you back then, which is a big thing to say considering he was the baddest man on the planet. You both are friends now, of course, but back then you challenged him?

That’s what Conor McGregor is doing, what I did more than twenty-three years ago, challenged the best boxer. This is more of an MMA fight. But hey, Mike Tyson, if he hit me with his arm, if he hit me on my face I’d wake up in hospital (laughs). I love Mike Tyson, man. I’d wake up a week later in hospital (laughs).

Yeah, but if you choked him out, he’d be waking up in the hospital? Come on, man, you’re not being fair here, you’re being too humble. Like you said, anything can happen?

Anything can happen. At the same time, he has a chance to hit me, I have a chance to get in a clinch and take him down. So it’s a matter of who can put the game plan on the table, who can avoid each other’s game and who can implement their strategy. There’s only one way to find out (laughs). Mike Tyson’s awesome, man.

Khan lost a world middleweight title fight to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in May (Getty)

Your advice to Amir Khan? You’ve been doing grappling all your life and you pioneered the UFC and this brutal sport of MMA. I think he’s not going to step into the Octagon, it’s to pump up his MMA League in India. There are a billion people there, you can make a lot of money. It’s all about the money.

It’s not about money; money is a consequence of your work. He’s doing it because he loves it. He’s doing it because he wants to help people out. Yes, money comes in. See, I don’t teach because of the money. I travel seven months in the year, I rather stay home with my kids, but I love to teach.

There are a lot of talented people out there (in India), there are a lot of tough guys out there, but you have to have discipline to get up and practice. Not just find the tough ones and the talented ones, you have to look further.

Right, Conor McGregor versus Diaz, UFC 202, what’s going to happen here, Royce?

Man, I don’t have a crystal ball, but I’m happy that McGregor is doing this, his natural weight he’s gone up to fight. In the street you don’t chose your opponents. If somebody in the street messes with you and he’s ten or twenty pounds heavier, are you going to say, “Sorry, you’re not in my weight division?” So he’s fighting open weight and he’s challenging boxers.

I’m glad somebody’s stepping up because fighters today are too concerned, not everybody but a lot of the fighters, about taking fights on short notice and weight of the opponents. I give a lot of credit to him. But Nick is a very tough fighter, too. So it’s tough, man, it can go either way. Again, like I said, whoever has the best strategy, whoever can take the opponent out of the game.