Conor McGregor may be coming off of the biggest fight of all-time, but his legacy still isn’t set. He has won two belts in the UFC but has not defended either belt, which is the easiest thing to pick out about Conor and criticize. To truly be the GOAT you need to defend the title at least two or three times. There was a lot of build up to the Mayweather fight, but now that all of that is over with, there’s only one question: what’s next? For mostly any UFC fan you talk to, there is only one answer to that question: Nate Diaz.
Maybe the most famous rivalry in UFC history is now Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz. Of course everyone knows Diaz submitted Conor in the first fight, then McGregor turned it around with a decision victory in August of 2016. Conor seems to be all about the money and only into the big money fights after fighting Floyd. There are not many bigger fights that could be made for him than Nate Diaz for the lightweight championship. The only other fight that could be bigger than Nate Diaz would be fighting GSP at welterweight in Canada. A lot of things have to happen for that to happen, so I’m going to ignore that and just say that Nate is the biggest possible fight for him. It’s the only fight right now that NEEDS to happen.
There is one snafu to the trilogy happening, Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee. They decided to put Conor’s lightweight (155 lb) title up and have Ferguson and Lee fight to be the Interim Champion. Historically, when there is an interim champion and the real champion comes back there is no debate on what the fight is going to be, but Conor makes his own history. Who says they have to fight right away? Why can’t Conor put his belt on the line against Nate and have that champion fight the interim champ in 2018?
The UFC always keeps the biggest fight or fight card for the end of the year, and Conor said he wanted to fight in December. Nate has not fought since the last time he fought Conor over a year ago. He has said many times he is waiting out until he gets a $20 million fight. Conor is the only guy to get him that and to get him excited enough to come back.
The biggest question for the UFC is: can Tony Ferguson or Kevin Lee sell the fight enough and be a big enough draw to fight Conor McGregor? I really have my doubts about that. I have no doubts about both fighters having the ability to fight Conor, because both are great fighters. Fighting Conor is more than a fight. It is a spectacle. It is entertainment. You need to be able to captivate people. You need to be able to draw viewers to watch you try and beat the best MMA fighter in the world. Nate has proven to be able to both fight and entertain.
Conor’s trainer was quoted saying he wants to fight Nate Diaz next. Nate’s trainer posted a picture on Instagram referencing the trilogy.
It seems the MMA world is buzzing for this fight, and everyone anticipating Conor’s next fight announcement. Conor is the center of attention in the UFC, and he hasn’t fought in nearly a year. Only time will tell us what fight will come next, but Conor has some unfinished business.