Conor McGregor: The only person lightweight division wants more than the title fight
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Conor McGregor
The rumbling of callouts for Conor McGregor must be silenced if the Irish UFC megastar is to return in 2023, but what makes McGregor, who has won only once in 5 years, a solid contender who could deviate athlete’s paths from the title fight and towards something “The Notorious” McGregor once called as the “red-panty night.” McGregor was last seen inside the UFC octagon back in July 2021 when he lost his trilogy to Dustin Poirier via doctor stoppage after the first round. McGregor suffered a brutal shin fracture at the end of the first round of that fight.
But fast forward, Conor McGregor has now recovered successfully and is kicking heavy bags just like the good old days. However, his smooth recovery doesn’t guarantee his return to the Octagon that soon. It has been rumoured that McGregor is out of competition until early 2023. But those who wanted to fight McGregor are still keeping an eye on him for the reason if a title fight is not in their pocket, at least a money fight should be. But as per MMA legend Chael Sonnen, McGregor’s exit from 2022 matchmaking has paved the way for sorted matchmaking for the rest of the fighters.
Are the lightweights going to cease their excitement to be the other half of Conor McGregor’s comeback fight?
The aforementioned 2023 rumour around McGregor must be a huge setback for someone like Michael Chandler, who has been calling out McGregor for a fight this year since last year. Chandler has been intact with his callout of McGregor even though he believes he has a strong case for fighting for the title. You have the former champion Charles Oliveira, who only lost his title due to missing weight, claiming that a fight against McGregor is one for the money and the legacy. For people like Islam Makhachev, who has been mentored by McGregor’s former rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, he could care less.
But the fact that Chandler is ready to fight McGregor even at welterweight is somewhat luring McGregor into that fight. The lightweight division is eyeing so hard for the McGregor fight all for the potential reason that McGregor has left the sport of MMA based on financial dependence a long time ago. So it won’t be a surprise if even in his early thirties, McGregor calls it off anytime now. McGregor has proved himself to be the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for there would possibly never be anyone like McGregor until we figure it out as McGregor did.
You can even get a money fight in future out of potential UFC megastars like Sean O’Malley, but a money fight for every weight class cannot be guaranteed. One can either be fortunate enough to land in a weight class of super fights or pragmatic enough to become irreplaceable by figuring out and catering precisely to the demands of the fight business and more so, personal branding in general.
Why are the welterweights chasing after Conor McGregor?
During the time of his recovery, McGregor had ample amount of time to tweet as much as he wanted, leading to a pack of back-and-forths on Twitter against the likes of the current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and fellow megastars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. With Usman, McGregor has some aspirations of fighting for a third UFC title in his legacy by fighting for the welterweight championship, since he already has earned his featherweight and lightweight titles in his prime.
With Diaz, McGregor has fought two amazing fights against the Stockton, California native- at UFC 196 and UFC 202. Both the fights have delivered in pristinely fighting terms and the business terms as well. A trilogy is always under McGregor’s eyes but for some reason, he doesn’t talk as enthusiastically about it as he talks about returning for a title fight. But for UFC President Dana White, this is one ace card that he can pull off anytime in order to put on one spectacular fight night for the fans.
McGregor and Masvidal have gone pretty back and forth and that too heavily on each other. Masvidal has even gone to go personal and claimed that McGregor is all into “sniffing coke [cocaine]” lately. It’s quite ironic to see that McGregor last fought at lightweight but on his return, it seems like the fights on 170 lbs make more sense than on 155 lbs. What are your thoughts on McGregor’s return and who do you want “The Notorious” to fight against next? Regardless, McGregor has solidified himself as a brand which is bigger than the legacy any belt would add to a fighter’s worth.
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Abhai Singh Tanwar
(1386 Articles Published)