Conor McGregor has been claiming that he will get a shot at the Lightweight title — regardless of who is sitting on the throne — when he mounts his much-anticipated return to action later this year.
According to Michael Bisping, that very well could happen even though “Notorious” is on a two-fight losing streak and has only won one fight in two years (against Donald Cerrone) and is 2-3 in mixed martial arts (MMA) since 2016. That’s because even though he’s been on the sidelines and on a slump, he’s made a huge name for himself over the years and is the biggest draw in the game, which means big business for UFC.
It’s something "The Count" says other 155-pound contenders have failed to do over the years, which is the reason he believes McGregor has a big chance of upsetting a lot of contenders who are also eyeing title shots when he returns.
And they will only have themselves to blame.
“A lot of people inside the Top 15, Top 5, Top 10, they’re gonna say, ‘What the f—k is happening? Why is Conor McGregor getting to skip the line?’” Bisping said on his YouTube channel (via MMA News). “Well, guess what? As I said, this is prizefighting, this is pay-per-views, this is the UFC, and they put on the fights, historically that we want to see, okay?
“The fights that we want to see, they are the fights UFC put up,” he continued. “So, if you’re not happy that Conor McGregor might get to skip the line and fight the champion when he’s not even ranked, don’t blame Conor McGregor, don’t blame Dana White, don’t blame UFC, blame your-f—king-self because you are ultimately responsible.”
“Notorious” is still on the mend after suffering a brutal leg break in a loss against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy fight. The outspoken Irishman did say he plans to return sometime in the middle of the year if all goes as planned.
As it stands, Justin Gaethje is in line to earn the next crack at Charles Oliveira’s 155-pound title, which “Do Bronx” defended by submitting the aforementioned Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 just last month. After that, many feel that the winner of Islam Makhachev vs. Beneil Dariush — who are set to collide on Feb. 26, 2022 — will get next.
Unless money McGregor has a say in the matter.
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