The UFC fight everyone has been pining for is almost here. Conor McGregor’s long hiatus is almost over, and the unblemished record of Khabib Nurmagomedov will finally be put to the test.
The most beautiful part is that the two will face off against each other as the headlining act for a fully loaded UFC 229 card on Saturday, October 6th.
McGregor has been waiting for a fight just like this, and he’s been talking a mad game on the UFC 229 tour. Khabib seems unflappable, but every hot streak has to end eventually, and who better to end it than the best MMA fighter (pound-for-pound) possibly ever?
It’s a tight one, understandably, with the undefeated Nurmagomedov (-155) operating as the mild favorite at the best betting sites for this fight.
McGregor hasn’t had a fight in the Octagon in nearly two full years, but with wins in 17 of his last 18 bouts, he feels like the play at a sneaky +125 price.
But it’s not just about this fight, is it?
UFC 229 is a big one, no doubt, but with news breaking not too long ago that The Notorious would stay on for a ridiculous 6-fight contract, everyone is already wondering what other crazy bouts are to come.
What happens at UFC 229 still matters. But whether McGregor wins or loses, there is already a long line of options to fill out those six future fights – assuming he lives up to that contract.
At just 30 years of age and never wanting for confidence or recognition, it’s a decent bet we get all of those fights and then some.
With an eye past betting on UFC 229 alone, let’s take a look at six Conor McGregor fights that have to happen with this new deal with UFC in place.
I’ll just get this one out of the way, seeing as Notorious himself has called out Georges St-Pierre, among others, and GSP seems hell-bent on only taking on massive bouts at this stage of his prolific fighting career.
GSP has been enjoying a nice four-year retirement before coming back to snag the middleweight title belt from Michael Bisping, but denying Robert Whittaker a title shot forced him to drop it, and now he’s left searching for his next option.
It may end up being retirement again, but GSP can get paid like crazy and also have the chance to take down the loudest mouth in MMA.
You can also consider Jose Aldo II here, but McGregor isn’t one for taking steps backwards.
He also isn’t going to just take on fighters to give them a chance to prove themselves. He’s in this for big money, fame, and the ability to dethrone guys he feels “called” to take out.
The likes of Robert Whittaker and a long list of seemingly unworthy middleweight, lightweight, and featherweight options won’t interest Notorious too much.
There are a lot of high-profile bouts you can tie McGregor to, but one I think he owes to the UFC is a rematch with Max Holloway. He obviously could owe it to Holloway, too.
Outside of Nate Diaz, the last guy to really give McGregor a good fight is Holloway, who has more than earned his keep in the UFC with 12 straight wins since dropping a decision to Notorious.
In that span, the versatile Holloway has taken down the legendary Jose Aldo (twice), Jeremy Stephens, and Cub Swanson, among others.
Should he stay at his current weight and McGregor care to dip his competitive toe back into the featherweight class, a second go-around could be in the cards.
If Holloway even gets a cursory glance, Tony Ferguson really deserves a long, hard look from McGregor. Outside of Khabib Nurmagomedov, the man known as El Cucuy is without a doubt the most deserving of his attention.
As things stand, Ferguson would be the next man up to get a shot at the lightweight title belt, no matter who ends up winning at UFC 229. If it’s indeed Notorious, this bout could be going down a lot sooner than anyone thinks.
In fact, if it weren’t for some awful luck, it could have been Ferguson who would have already snapped Khabib’s deadly run in the UFC. El Cucuy is 23-3 overall, has never been KO’d, and has won each of his last 10 bouts.
You can also throw in deserving contenders like Kevin Lee, Brian Ortega, and Dustin Poirier as alternatives, but they probably all need one huge win before getting to Notorious.
All of these fights are going to be on McGregor’s radar, but you know what’s in the back of his mind – finally getting to that Nate Diaz rubber match.
McGregor is without a doubt one of the toughest fighters in all of MMA, as he’s never been KO’d, and all three of his defeats have come via submission.
His floor work isn’t the greatest, and he obviously can have difficulty getting through tough holds, but I think it’s part of his game he’s always willing to explore and improve at.
Staring down another possible loss, the real play here is a trilogy fight hype, while Notorious sure wouldn’t mind showing everyone once and for all who the better fighter is.
Diaz submitted McGregor the first time around, and the two slapped each other around until McGregor won by decision. The third bout has to end in a KO, and McGregor would love to make that happen.
This is a crazy one to me, as McGregor has dominated at featherweight and lightweight, and he’s even in talks with a middleweight like GSP, but he’s never really upped his game to take on a stud like Woodley.
Woodley has owned the welterweight class for quite some time now, as the punishing bruiser has ripped off seven straight wins and holds the longest active title defense in the UFC.
What’s even more impressive is that Woodley has battled back against the best the welterweight division has had to offer.
McGregor has been public for his disdain for Woodley in the past, so you know both sides would love to make this fight official. If McGregor indeed takes down Khabib and again makes the lightweight division look like a cakewalk, that big move up feels inevitable.
You can toss in all of the other potential Conor McGregor fights you want, but I bet the one that takes the cake is Money Mayweather coming to the Octagon for an “anything goes” MMA clash with Notorious.
It’s rather unlikely Mayweather takes on the risk of this fight, especially as the payout may not be so lucrative. But after Notorious took a gamble in the boxing world, it’s only fair for Money to return the favor.
Mayweather is understandably a huge underdog (+350 at Bovada) for that hypothetical MMA tango, and it’d be hard not to bet against him.
Before any of this can be made a reality, UFC 229 has to happen. If McGregor loses, the Khabib vs. McGregor II talk will heat up, and that honestly is something we might see either way.
However, Notorious is not one to backtrack or do fights that don’t make sense to him or vault him to a higher level. Rematches with Diaz or Holloway, to me, would be very different and wouldn’t exactly be lateral or negative movement for him.
One thing to consider here is that McGregor may not wind up living up to his new six-fight contract. He could retire at any point, or if he loses 1-2 fights, the UFC could just lose interest in promoting him as one of their top stars.
Ronda Rousey proved not too long ago that you’re only as useful as the length of your dominance. As great as McGregor is, his cocky act is only interesting if he actually backs it up more often than not.
Taking out the next rising UFC star would be huge for Notorious and would propel him to a very exciting string of fights – some of which could be the ones I just went over. If he loses, however, it could easily be the beginning of the end for a fighter presently in his prime.
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