Manny Pacquiao 'Knows' Conor McGregor And MMA Fighters Can KO Him, UFC Legend Says

UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten believes Manny Pacquiao is well aware that fighters like Conor McGregor can actually knock him out in boxing matches.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Rutten weighed in on the talked-about potential boxing match between Pacquiao and McGregor. According to “El Guapo,” McGregor may lack pro boxing experience but even the world’s only eight-division titlist knows what the UFC star is capable of.

“Conor [McGregor] is going to hit him,” Rutten predicted. “What do you think? That mixed martial artists cannot box? That's the dumbest thing ever. Yeah, it's a different distance, and I know you are better with boxing, but don't believe that we can't knock you out or that we can't touch you. Of course we can.”

"[Manny] Pacquiao knows that,” he continued. “So, he will be in and out with hyper movements; Manny fought the best guys on the planet. Needless to say, Pacquiao does have to watch out for that counter speed that Conor has because that's his biggest weapon. He moves just out of range, and then he comes back, and he is so accurate. If he lands it, that could be trouble for Pacquiao."

Despite being confident about McGregor's performance, Rutten predicted that Pacquiao is “going to be a tougher fight” for his fellow UFC star than Floyd Mayweather Jr. Based on the 55-year-old’s assessment, “Pac-Man” has “hyper super explosive power” and is still a dangerous fighter even in his 40s.

"Manny is not going to be like Jose Aldo walking in a daddy-gonna-get-it behavior, because he has been doing this boxing thing for a long time. He is going to be in and out, in and out and really, really fast," Rutten said.

"And McGregor knows that, trust me,” he continued. "They can all say, 'I don't think McGregor's boxing is good.' Well, he went eight rounds with arguably one of the best boxers on the planet, right? For a guy who had never had a professional boxing match to do that, I was super impressed."

McGregor is set for a rematch with Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. Pacquiao, on the other hand, has verbally agreed to fight Terence Crawford but is still heavily linked to Mikey Garcia.

Despite the conflict, the pair’s shared manager Audie Attar confirmed that Pacquiao vs. McGregor will happen.

“That is a fight that we’re definitely going to make because both fighters want it, and there seems to be interest from the fans all around the world,” Attar previously said of Pacquiao vs. McGregor.