Conor McGregor outlines next three fights in UFC
Conor McGregor outlined his next three fights in the UFC and called out three different men for what would be epic fights in the promotion.
However, McGregor hasn’t fought in two years since a loss to Dustin Poirier when he broke his leg at the end of the first round. Since then, McGregor coached against Michael Chandler on The Ultimate Fighter, which is set to conclude this coming Tuesday.
The two men are expected to fight at some point, but nothing’s been signed. But according to McGregor, a fight against Chandler is the first of three bouts he really wants.
“(Michael) Chandler next (in) December,” McGregor said. “And then (Justin) Gaethje (for the) BMF (belt) and then we’ll do Nate (Diaz) trilogy.”
Chandler, without mentioning McGregor, seemingly responded to the Irishman’s claim.
“December sounds perfect to me…,” Chandler wrote on Twitter.
Since his lightweight title win in 2016, McGregor is 1-3 in the UFC over the course of seven years. He lost a title fight to Khabib Nurmagomedov, knocked out Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout and lost two fights to Poirier in 2021.
McGregor called out Gaethje and Diaz this summer, saying he wanted the BMF belt won by Gaethje and wanted to put it on the line against Diaz after he wins it.
Conor McGregor lays out plans for three fights
While these fights on paper could make waves in the PPV department, it doesn’t exactly set up McGregor for any sort of title shot, based on what he wants to do. But, when you are Conor McGregor, you can practically make the rules.
Gaethje is expected to fight for the lightweight title against current champion Islam Makhachev or former champion Charles Oliveira in his next bout. Diaz recently lost a boxing match to Jake Paul.
If McGregor is to have his fight against Chandler at lightweight (155 pounds), there might be a path to a title shot.
Chandler is ranked No. 5 while Gaethje is No. 2 at the weight, per the UFC rankings. McGregor’s goal at this point seems to be big fights, but if he were to actually beat Chandler and Gaethje, he could be fighting for a title or actually have the belt in hand in just two fights time.
And then a third fight against Diaz just for the heck of it. It might sound nice on paper, but McGregor has yet to enter the USADA drug testing pool.
Will it be awesome to see him back in the cage? Sure, but “The Notorious” has yet to officially sign anything, so UFC fans remain in wait-and-see mode.