McGregor responds to bombshell Pacquiao claims

Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor, touted as a potential opponent for Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, has indicated he wants his next bout to be a return to the octagon rather than the ring.

Caught on video by TMZ while out and about in New York, McGregor was asked about Pacquiao's announcement last week that he had opened talks to fight McGregor.

"I think a true fight is what I want to do next," McGregor says in the video posted online on Saturday. "MMA next."

The Filipino senator and boxing legend Pacquiao first called out McGregor in November:

But while few took that post seriously, Pacquiao recently said the bout is on the table.

"If we can negotiate it, I have no problem. It is OK with both of us," Pacquiao said last week.

Asked if he had already approached McGregor's handlers for such a fight, Pacquiao told AFP, "initially, but we have not yet had any follow-up conversations".

McGregor hasn't fought in mixed martial arts or boxing since losing a boxing bout to unbeaten Floyd Mayweather by a 10th-round technical knockout in their much-hyped bout in Las Vegas in August.

Showtime sports released final figures on Friday showing the cross-combat superfight drew the second-most North American pay-per-view buys in history with 4.3 million.

Only one other fight -- Mayweather's 2015 clash with Pacquiao -- has ever drawn more, racking up 4.6 million pay-per-view buys.

Showtime said in a statement that global revenues, including ticket sales, sponsorship and international distribution, for Mayweather-McGregor had exceeded $US600 million.