It has been eight months since former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor suffered a second consecutive defeat at the hands of Dustin Poirier. McGregor and Poirier looked evenly matched when their UFC 264 bout started but at the end of round one, the ringside doctor was forced to stop the match after "The Notorious" sustained a broken tibia. As of now, it remains unknown when McGregor will fight again. However, though he's still under rehabilitation, he has already started making noise regarding his return.
Dana White's Plan For Conor McGregor
In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, via YouTube, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan and former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping talked about McGregor's highly-anticipated return to the Octagon. Though several fighters are ahead of him in the UFC lightweight rankings, Rogan believes UFC President Dana White is creating a path for McGregor to face the winner of the Charles Oliveira-Justin Gaethje bout.
"When Dana said that Makhachev now has to fight Beneil Dariush before he can fight for the title, I think that sets up a Conor fight (for the title). I think that’s probably why he really did it,” Rogan said, as quoted by MMA Junkie. “It’s kind of crazy.”
Conor McGregor Title Fight A No-Brainer For Dana White
It won't be surprising if White and the UFC are indeed planning to let McGregor fight for the UFC lightweight title when he returns. The decision would definitely earn plenty of criticisms, especially knowing that "The Notorious" is coming off back-to-back losses at the hands of Poirier. However, Bisping believes that financially, it would be in the UFC's best interests to allow McGregor to fight the winner between Oliveira and Gaethje.
“It’s wild, but if you owned the company, would you want that to happen? You probably would. Let’s be honest,” Bisping said.
Variables For Conor McGregor Title Fight
Though he still has no idea when "The Notorious" can fight again, White is open to the possibility of scheduling a fight between McGregor and the winner of the Oliveira-Gaethje bout. However, White said in an interview with The Underground, via YouTube, that "lots of variables" would need to come together for the UFC to make it happen. First, McGregor should assure that he's 100 percent healthy and his leg injury is fully healed. Also, White added that they will let the champion decide whether they want McGregor to be the next challenger or not.
Michael Bisping's Prediction For Conor McGregor
McGregor and his camp would still need to wait for two months to see the result of the Oliveira-Gaethje UFC 274 fight. However, if Oliveira will succeed in his second title defense, Bisping thinks that McGregor has a strong chance of becoming the UFC lightweight champion again.
“Charles is hittable and Conor can still f***ing hit," Bisping said. "He’s fast and Charles is hittable. I’m just saying, there’s a potential that Conor comes back, beats Charles Oliveira and becomes champion again."
]]>The Inquisitr
