Yesterday, news broke that the welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns at UFC 256 was off. That title fight was set to be the main event for the promotions December PPV event scheduled for December 12th.
Amanda Nunes – Megan Anderson for the UFC‘s featherweight title remains on that card. However, I don’t think it’s likely that the UFC moves forward with Nunes – Anderson as the main event of that PPV. I think they have higher profile fights in mind.
ESPN reported yesterday that the UFC was considering a number of options. One option they were considering was Stipe Miocic – Francis Ngannou 2 for the heavyweight title. Another option the UFC was looking at was having Jorge Masvidal – Colby Covington headline that card.
Both of these fights are fantastic options. However, it appears that the UFC heavyweight title fight will not happen until 2021 as of now. Masvidal – Covington is a very real possibility as the UFC has been working hard to book that fight.
What should the UFC do?
While both of these options are great, I think there is a clear path for the promotion. That path would have UFC 256 headlined by the rematch between Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC). Both men have recently agreed to a charity MMA match.
That charity MMA match was set to be on 12/12 which is the same date as UFC 256. McGregor obviously suggested that date to stick it to the promotion after the recent public back and forth. Poirier agreed to the date for the charity match.
Conor McGregor belongs in the UFC. Despite everything, he’s still the cash cow for the promotion. The UFC is booming and they’ve proved they don’t need McGregor, but if you can get him back in the octagon, you need to do it.
Not only would this be a fun fight for fans, but it would be the right fight for the division. Both men are near the top of the lightweight division, and whoever wins would have a real claim to be the number one contender to whoever wins at UFC 254.
Poirier was originally supposed to fight Tony Ferguson. However, that fight fell apart due to financial negotiations. I don’t see financial reasons being what stops this fight from happening. For the hell of it, why not put Tony Ferguson – Michael Chandler on the same card at UFC 256? This is the path I would go down if I was the UFC.