Conor McGregor (22-6) has found himself back in news circles today after revealing his UFC comeback plans. The former two-division world champion had an interview with his publication, The Mac Life, where he talked about returning to the octagon.
Currently, McGregor has been rehabbing his leg and suffering a broken leg last July at UFC 264. McGregor has bulked up his upper-body and been lifting weights to go along with his legs rehabilitation.
With the extra mass, McGregor said today that he wasn’t particularly interested in returning to the UFC’s lightweight division. McGregor stated that he already won the lightweight title and something bigger was on his mind.
That something bigger is a shot at the UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. McGregor has been very vocal about his interest to come right back into a title shot. However, most assumed that title shot would potentially be at 155 pounds.
McGregor’s UFC Plans vs Reality
McGregor said that he wants to be comfortable moving forward and he doesn’t see himself returning to lightweight. With the extra mass, he feels good and comfortable now and thinks the UFC’s welterweight division is a good spot for him.
He also fantasizes about becoming the first man in the history of the promotion to become a three-division world champion. Now, let’s be completely honest, the odds of that happening are not great at all.
Kamaru Usman is going to be defending his welterweight title over the summer against Leon Edwards. Should he win that fight, the next fight for him is not clearly defined. He’s been lapping guys in the division so there’s not many compelling matchups.
Of course, if Khamzat Chimaev beats Gilbert Burns at UFC 273, there’s your compelling challenger. However, there would be no fight bigger than Conor McGregor and that would get the champion paid.
Do I think that Conor McGregor could beat Kamaru Usman? No, I don’t think he would beat Kamaru Usman. Will he get a shot at Kamaru Usman? Probably shouldn’t, but this is Conor McGregor and he has his own rules in the UFC.
With these new plans laid out by McGregor, I’m fascinated to see how this all plays out.