Following a submission loss to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov last month at UFC 229, fight fans have wondered who Conor McGregor will fight next.
While “Notorious” would love another crack at Khabib, a rematch is unlikely to happen considering the dominant performance by the lightweight champ. Instead, McGregor is willing to fight another top-flight draw as long as it puts him closer to another title shot opposite “Eagle.”
The only issue is that McGregor, along with Khabib, are currently facing potential suspensions by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for their involvement in UFC 229’s post-fight brawl (video here). So even though UFC president Dana White would love to get McGregor and his millions of pay-per-view (PPV) buys back inside the Octagon sooner than later, everything is on hold for now.
“December,” White told TMZ Sports when asked about an update on McGregor and Khabib. “So those guys go before the Nevada State Athletic Commission in December and then we’ll know what’s up.”
“We’re not even thinking about it,” White continued. “It’s not even worth talking about because we don’t know how long the suspensions are going to be, what their fines are going to be. We don’t know the penalties yet, so you can’t even think about fights until we know what the penalties are.”
While we don’t know for sure when McGregor will be allowed to return to UFC competition rumors have already swirled about “Notorious” finally locking horns with veteran Donald Cerrone, who just became the UFC’s all-time leader in wins and finishes earlier this month at UFC Fight Night 139. McGregor and Cerrone already have some history with one another so it makes sense for the promotion to book the matchup coming off of ”Cowboy’s” historic victory.
Leave it up to White to shut down the McGregor vs. Cerrone hype train and render the work of hopeful oddsmakers useless.
“That’s not true,” confirmed White. “Absolutely not true. Obviously that’s the fight that “Cowboy” Cerrone wants but that’s not true.
“We haven’t even thought about an opponent for either one of those guys yet, meaning Khabib or Conor.”
There you have it, fight fans. As of now, no such matchup between McGregor and “Cowboy” is on the table. But if McGregor isn’t able to land a rematch with Khabib, and UFC isn’t ready to grant Nate Diaz his trilogy fight with “Notorious,” Cerrone may move to the front of the line given his star power and legendary finishing ability.
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