After months of trash talking and bold predictions, Conor McGregor backed it all up last night (Sat., July 11, 2015) at UFC 189 by knocking out Chad Mendes in the second round of their scheduled five round championship fight to capture the interim featherweight title.
Now, its time for "Notorious" to look ahead to his next challenge, which will be a title unification bout against current division kingpin, Jose Aldo. Unfortunately for McGregor, it won't be in front of his hometown crowd in Ireland according to UFC president Dana White.
During the post-fight press conference (video replay here), White revealed that when the two men finally collide it will be in the "Fight Capital of The World," Las Vegas, Nevada.
"There's a thing where we told Conor, if he fought and beat Jose Aldo, we would let him defend at Croke Park in Ireland. When he and Jose Aldo fight, it will be here in Las Vegas. As of right now. I mean anything can change. But as of right now, it will be in Las Vegas."
When that will be, no one knows, though Aldo is expected to make his return to action as early as October after a rib injury forced him out of his bout against McGregor originally set for UFC 189.
But, according to UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, the fight could take place on Jan 2, 2016. Though it's just an idea at the moment and it's definitly not set in stone according to his words to Brett Okamoto.
Should Conor unify the titles to become the undisputed champ, then his dreams of defending his UFC title in his home country could be realized soon thereafter.
Despite how hard it will be to make it happen at Croke Park, UFC officials are determined to break down the barriers to make it a reality.
For complete results from UFC 189: "Mendes vs. McGregor," including play-by-play updates, click here.