What will be Conor McGregor’s next fight? After an impressive 40-second win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 246, the former two-division champion has a number of potential opponents lining up for the next crack at the biggest draw in combat sports.
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, the BMF titleholder Jorge Masvidal, lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and boxing matches with Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao all make sense.
However, UFC president Dana White revealed who the most likely foe for the Irishman will be.
While speaking to the media at the UFC 246 postfight press conference, White revealed that a rematch between McGregor and Nurmagomedov is the fight he will be targeting.
“When you look at what makes sense, we’re at a place right now where Conor was saying going into the Khabib fight – he had lot of personal stuff,” White told the media, as transcribed by MMAjunkie.com. “Some stuff (was) self-inflicted. He had injuries. He had all these things going on. He has been obsessed with getting that rematch because he knows he wasn’t 100 percent, right?
“When you look at this for Khabib, Khabib is 28-0. He’s undefeated. You start talking about this kid’s legacy. First of all, to go 28-0 in this sport? I don’t care who you’ve fought. It’s tough to do. Well, this guy is a world champion. After tonight, with how Khabib won the first time, and how famous Khabib has become since that first fight, we’re looking at Hagler-Hearns. We’re looking at Ali-Foreman (or) Ali-Frazier. This is a massive fight with global appeal. It’s the fight you make.”
As for where the blockbuster fight could take place, there are a number of venues White would consider, but Moscow is already out of the running.
“It ain’t happening in Moscow. … Why do you think it’s not going to happen in Moscow? There are many, many reasons why it won’t happen in Moscow. When I just rattled off the places we could make it, those are the places that make sense. You could either do it in the U.K.; New York City; Dallas, Texas stadium; the stadium in Las Vegas; T-Mobile Arena – those are all the places that make sense.
White said.
“Realistically, Vegas is always the place that makes the most sense when you have a massive fight. Unfortunately, Khabib is not a big Vegas fan after what happened to him last time. I don’t know.”
After McGregor’s win, he holds all of the cards, so while White may prefer a rematch with Khabib, it will be interesting to see what direction the UFC ultimately decides to go.
Who do you want to see McGregor face in his next bout? Sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts and predictions.
