While talks of a potential Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather showdown have continued to progress, the UFC lightweight champion has yet to receive his boxing license in Nevada. When talks of a McGregor-Mayweather superfight began to pick up steam, McGregor received his boxing license in California, however the Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to license McGregor given his inexperience in boxing.

Now however, with McGregor recently stating that a fight with Mayweather is “very close” to being finalized. NSAC Executive Director Bob Bennett spoke to Boxing News that he now doesn’t see an issue with McGregor being given a license in Nevada:

“When you go back, he took up kickboxing at the age of 12. As a youth he became an All-Ireland boxing champion. He goes to the UFC, of course he had several [MMA] fights before that, and while he’s with the UFC he’s 21-3 with 17 of those wins coming via knockout or TKO.

“He’s a stand-up fighter, he’s a southpaw, he hits like a tonne of bricks, he’s got a great jaw, he’s 5’ 9’’ and he’s got a reach of 74 inches. If you take a look at his wins in the UFC, they’re predominantly from striking [punching] and if you take a look at the fact he was able to move from 145[lbs] to 155 to 170, he’s displayed some awesome unarmed combat skills.

“He’s proven that he can fight as a stand-up fighter. I’ve seen some tape of him boxing, I’m sure I’ll get an updated version of his skill-set as a fighter. I certainly think he’s worthy of being approved to fight Floyd Mayweather. His UFC background is critical in approving this fight.”

Only time will tell if negotiations progress to the point of McGregor potentially being granted a boxing license in Nevada!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/6/2017.