At one point in time, whenever Conor McGregor (22-6) was brought up in potential UFC talks, fans would get insanely excited about the prospect of the biggest star the sport has ever seen making his comeback. However, in recent years, anytime his name is mentioned it feels like there are collective eye rolls from the MMA community.
McGregor desperately wanted to make a comeback and run towards a UFC title in 2020 and that year started with a first round blitz of Donald Cerrone. Then, Covid shut everything down. McGregor returned the following January and looked great against Dustin Poirier until leg kicks did him in and he suffered a second round TKO loss.
The two men ran it back for their trilogy in July with McGregor losing after breaking his leg in the first round. We haven’t seen McGregor inside the octagon since then. He was supposed to return at UFC 303 and headline the event against Michael Chandler after the two men coached on The Ultimate Fighter.
McGregor pulled out of the fight a couple of weeks prior to the event due to breaking his toe citing his desire to be 100% whenever he returns. Since then, he hasn’t been booked for a fight, but there is an event that he has his eyes fixed on. That’s the upcoming White House event that’ll take place next summer.
McGregor on the UFC White House Card
McGregor and Dana White have been in communication and White has confirmed that McGregor desperately wants to be on that specific card. At this point in his career, McGregor is searching for something unique and historic and nothing says that more than The White House card. White has also said that he wants to make the biggest card possible and you can’t do that without Conor McGregor.
McGregor has been making the rounds recently and he’s said that he is going to face Michael Chandler on that card. You have to root for Chandler to get that fight after sitting out nearly two years just to have the fight fall through and since then, he’s lost two in a row. The man deserves that opportunity if you ask me.
However, I think that UFC Rio could’ve created a new lane for McGregor that nobody is thinking about. While Chandler is probably the easiest opponent for McGregor in terms of lightweight contenders at this stage, there’s a dangerous opportunity that McGregor just might get up for.
After his win this past weekend at UFC Rio, Charles Oliveira called for a BMF title fight against Max Holloway. Prior to the fight this past weekend, Oliveira talked about his desire to get the money fight against McGregor at The White House. I think Oliveira – Holloway is perfect matchmaking and the fight makes a ton of sense.
Let’s say the UFC makes that fight happen early next year for the BMF belt. What if the winner ends up fighting Conor McGregor on that card in June? Max Holloway and Conor McGregor fought early in their careers with McGregor winning a decision.
Imagine how big a rematch would be at The White House with the BMF title on the line. Or, imagine a legend like Charles Oliveira and Conor McGregor finally fighting with a truly unique title on the line. It’s such a massive opportunity that I think it should be an option.
McGregor – Chandler is the most obvious and likely fight for McGregor at The White House, but it’s not the most desirable fight if you ask me. The fight means little too nothing at this point other than marking McGregor’s return. However, a BMF title fight would be something special and it would actually be relevant. Just something to think about.
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