McGregor Teases Pacquiao Superfight, But Filipino Boxer's Advisor Hints At Another Opponent

UFC superstar Conor McGregor may be teasing a blockbuster fight with eight-division titleholder Manny Pacquiao with his recent Filipino tweet. However, Pacquiao's advisor, Sean Gibbons, may have dropped a big hint that the Filipino champ will be fighting Mikey Garcia next.

On Friday, McGregor tweeted out, "Tinatanggap ko," a Filipino phrase which translates to "I accept." As expected, fans began speculating that the Irishman could be reviving the idea of a superfight against Pacquiao.

The tweet came just a day after the UFC star tweeted, “I accept!” Some believed that it was meant for UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev, the undefeated Swedish prospect who has been calling McGregor out on social media.

After a brief talk with McGregor, veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani revealed that “The Notorious” said the tweet wasn't about Chimaev.

“He [McGregor] confirmed that his 'I accept' tweet was not about Khamzat Chimaev, despite what was said earlier today. He declined to further elaborate what it was actually referring to, though,” Helwani wrote.

Though McGregor refused to provide more details regarding his mysterious tweets, it is believed that he was referring to only Pacquiao given that he even translated the statement to the boxer’s native language.

However, Pacquiao’s team suggested that the legendary boxer is set to face a different opponent. On July 27, Pacquiao’s longtime advisor, MP Promotions executive Gibbons, posted a photo on Instagram of him posing with Keith “One Time” Thurman, the last opponent the 41-year-old had beaten, and Garcia.

Gibbons captioned the photo, “One Down One to Go!”

As Pacquiao had already defeated Thurman in July last year, he could be the “one down” Gibbons was referring to, reports suggested. Evidently, the “one to go” points to Garcia, a welterweight contender who has been calling out Pacquiao in recent months.

Unlike Pacquiao vs. McGregor, Pacquiao vs. Garcia managed to progress. Matchroom Sport managing director Eddie Hearn plotted the bout to happen on July 11, but several factors, such as the coronavirus pandemic, hindered the negotiations.

McGregor, on the other hand, shocked everybody ahead of his MMA return at UFC 246 in January. According to the Irish fighter, a fight between him and Pacquiao was once discussed but never came to fruition. Since then, McGregor has been vocal about his desire to fight the future Hall of Famer.

In February, the buzz over the potential superfight between the pair grew even bigger when Pacquiao decided to join Paradigm Sports Management, a promotion also handling McGregor’s negotiations.