What Next: Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor was on top of the world…
December 12, 2015: Conor McGregor ices Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to become the UFC Featherweight Champion of the World.
November 12, 2016: Conor McGregor TKOs Eddie Alvarez inside 2 rounds to become the UFC Lightweight Champion of the World and first man ever to hold titles in two different weight classes simultaneously.
Conor falls from grace…
April 7, 2018: Conor McGregor has FINALLY been stripped of his last title (UFC Lightweight title).
October 6, 2018: Conor McGregor fails to recapture gold when Khabib Nurmagomedov finishes him in the 4th round via neck crank.
While Conor’s career is the perfect example of a ‘dramatic arc’: Conor rose to the top, peaked, and has been rapidly falling with a series of allegations, a succession of incidents and back to back losses in and out of the octagon. Additionally, he has developed a bad taste in fans’ mouths due to his inactivity.
Nonetheless, Conor McGregor is still the biggest star to ever walk the octagon and he is still THE ‘money fight’. At this point in McGregor’s career; his life, he has made enough money with his Proper 12 Whiskey, August McGregor clothing line, and boxing match with Floyd Mayweather to walk away in a custom suit (3 people might have died to make), sipping whiskey, enjoying the rest of his life with his family.
But the fighter inside never dies.
If it was up to me, I would tell Conor to stay retired as he is UNDOUBTEDLY a Hall of Famer. Yet, even after Conor’s retirement tweets, Dana White assures us Conor McGregor will step foot in the octagon once again. Should this be true, who should he face?
My Recommendation: Fight Anthony Pettis at 155 lbs.
FIRST OF ALL, you have to be out of your mind if you don’t think McGregor/Pettis, a fan favorite match up since McGregor won the featherweight strap, would not do numbers. Most importantly, Conor needs a rebound fight and a ‘measurement’ fight. By no means do I find beating a #8 ranked Anthony Pettis to be an easy task, but Conor needs to measure where he is at in his career and if a title shot is still feasible. I believe this fight favors Conor (especially if they are only 3 rounds) as Pettis does not have tremendous takedown offense and has been locked in wars. Ideally, Conor can win this fight in stunning fashion and work his way up the ladder.
Next Fight or Alternative: #4 Donald Cerrone or #5 Justin Gaethje
Whethe ‘Cowboy’ wins or loses, Cerrone v. McGregor is another fight fans have been asking for. Even if Cerrone loses to Ferguson, McGregor could replace ‘Cowboy’ as a rightful contender for gold after Ferguson gets his shot. On the other hand, Justin Gaethje has been looking more and more like the undefeated WSOF Champion and potential UFC title contender we expected when he first signed with the company. He currently rides a 2-fight win streak with back to back knockouts of highly touted strikers in James Vick and Edson Barboza. With the addition of some trash talk hurled toward Conor from Gaethje, this one has the bad blood built up to sell the fight. A win over Gaethje puts McGregor in title contention as well because after the Ferguson/Cowboy v. Khabib/Poirier takes place, the ONLY sensible title contender would be Conor McGregor, simply based on ranking alone. These fights, yet again, would most likely take place standing. Conor is one of, if not, the best on the feet, a fast starter and should have the advantage here yet again. Yes, I am aware ‘Cowboy’ is on a tear right now, but he is a slow starter who gets rocked a little easier nowadays and Gaethje gets tagged…. ALOT.
Title Shot: TBD (But I think Khabib will still be champion by the time this happens)
Is Conor the underdog in this fight? Rightfully so. But SOLELY train your takedown defense and cardio; your chances of winning this fight increases tenfold. Conor’s hands are already significantly better than 99% of everyone’s in the Lightweight Division. He just needs to work on that cardio and ground game because the competition is not catching up to his boxing ability anytime soon.
Two fights and then the title shot. Hard to do? Yes. Odds of success? 1 in 14,000,605 (shout-out Avenger’s Endgame). But if anyone can do it, ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor is the man to make that walk to the octagon.
These are my opinions and what I believe is best for the UFC’s Lightweight Division and Conor McGregor. Opinions? Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments below Fight Fam!
-PC