McGregor reveals failed attempt at Sanchez fight, targets Pacquiao

Warning: Story contains coarse language

Conor McGregor revealed Friday he asked the UFC to book him against Diego Sanchez, and now he appears focused on boxing Manny Pacquiao.

In a series of Instagram screenshots involving UFC president Dana White, McGregor showed he wanted to fight Sanchez, who clamored for the Irishman to close out his career. Sanchez, 38, is scheduled to face Jake Matthews on Saturday at UFC 253.

McGregor began asking for the bout in February and offered to fight the former winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" in Los Angeles or his hometown of Dublin. White seemed unenthusiastic about the matchup, telling McGregor the UFC should lose its promoter's license if it made that fight.

After failing to gain traction, McGregor asked White about other possible opponents and mentioned Justin Gaethje. The conversations took place before the COVID-19 pandemic made its way to North America and forced the UFC to revamp its schedule.

To cap his tweet storm, McGregor said he's getting back into the ring to face Pacquiao, the only eight-division world champion in boxing history. "The Notorious" boxed Floyd Mayweather in 2017, losing via TKO in the 10th round. The fight was one of the most financially lucrative in combat sports history.

McGregor's manager, who also manages Pacquiao, confirmed to ESPN's Ariel Helwani on Friday that talks have started for a McGregor-Pacquiao bout, and a fight would take place in late December or early January.

In June, McGregor claimed he was retiring from the UFC, though he had made similar announcements in the past and returned to the Octagon.

In his tweets, the 32-year-old also denied rejecting a Tony Ferguson battle, saying his only request was to have the fight scheduled in advance rather than him be a late-notice fill-in.

McGregor last competed in the UFC in January, earning a TKO victory over Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds. That fight represented McGregor's first action in the cage since he unsuccessfully challenged Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title in October 2018.