Throughout the year, a rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor remained one of the most discussed topics in the world of mixed martial arts. The confrontation between irreconcilable opponents was fueled by tough skirmishes on social networks and rude comments from the Irishman at press conferences, one of which was held in Moscow. But, if earlier the UFC leadership preferred to take a neutral position, then after the victory of Notorius over Donald Cowboy Serrone, even championship president Dana White announced the need for a retaliatory fight.
It is worth noting that the UFC has a huge number of reasons to organize the second match between Nurmagomedov and McGregor as soon as possible. Firstly, there is a long history of confrontation between the athletes and a conflict that could not be resolved through the first battle. In the light of new details about how the Irish got ready for the battle at the UFC 229 tournament, the difference in class between the athletes did not seem so obvious. The complete lack of work ethics and problems with alcohol, although not a worthy justification for Conor's fiasco, made me wonder what the outcome would be if he had been extremely concentrated and devoted 100% to training.
Secondly, despite the abundance of cool fighters, the lightweight champion does not have a clear contender for the title, except for Tony Ferguson. At the moment, the second line is occupied by Dustin Porrier, who recently had a chance to compete for the belt, but from that moment he never entered the octagon. There is Justin Gatgi, but his position in the promotion raises questions. The reason for this is the numerous refusals from fights, as White spoke about. The UFC has always encouraged athletes who are ready to enter the cage at any time, even with a short notice, and the head of the championship has repeatedly said that the chance of a lifetime can come at any time and you need to be ready for it. As a result of this, overly selective athletes often fell out of favor, and the development of their careers was seriously complicated.
Thirdly, the financial potential of the return match between Nurmagomedov and McGregor is inexhaustible. The first caused an unprecedented stir, thanks to which the UFC 229 tournament set a record for sales of paid broadcasts in the history of mixed martial arts. The battle for the lightweight champion was watched by 2.4 million people, which is 800 thousand more than the previous achievement. It is worth noting that the Irishman had a hand in him, and Nate Diaz helped him in this.
Apparently, the defeat from Habib could not inflict a serious blow on Conor's popularity. The UFC 246 tournament also became the object of attention of a huge number of spectators, which brought a substantial profit to the Absolute Fighting Championship. According to MMA Fighting, about 2 million paid broadcasts were sold, which is an incredible result. Especially considering the fact that McGregor’s opponent was, although deserved, but still not reaching the status of Cerrone superstar, and the rest of the participants were not at all the strongest.
Based on this, we can conclude that from a financial point of view, a rematch between a Russian and an Irish is an absolutely logical step. However, in terms of sports component, it is not the best option for promotion. Despite the dominant performance and victory in 40 seconds, the fight with the Cowboy left too many questions.
In fact, he did not allow to get an idea about either the current form of McGregor, nor about his ability to fight in the welterweight category, nor about changes in his technical arsenal. By and large, one can only conclude from it that Cerrone no longer corresponds to the elite level and must get used to the role of a gatekeeper (a fighter who must be defeated in order to break into the elite).
Donald’s weak performance did not allow him to look at Conor’s ability to defend himself against attacks of an athlete exceeding him in size, and also to see if he was able to compete with him on equal terms in the clinch and stalls. Undoubtedly, this could hardly be considered a worthy test before revenge with Habib, but many expected that the Cowboy would try to press his counterpart to the net, and then pull it to the ground. In fact, it was only enough for not the most powerful and accurate right hi-kick.
McGregor assured that he approached this duel in great shape and held one of the best training camps in his career, but it was impossible to draw serious conclusions in 40 seconds. Whether he managed to deprive his endurance problems and is he so good at fighting, as his coach Dillon Denis said, remains a mystery.
In view of all this, the retaliatory battle with Nurmagomedov seems untimely. McGregor still did not show that he had made significant progress and would be able to compete with the champion. Of course, to demand from him to win ten battles in a row is too much, but another test will clearly not hurt. If the Irishman can repeat his result in the battle with a worthy rival, no one will doubt his candidacy.
It is worth noting that the UFC has a couple of fighters, a victory over which is able to remove all questions about the viability of McGregor as the first contender for the lightweight title. Of course, one of them is the aforementioned Gatgi. The American has won the last three battles and is in better shape than ever. In addition, over the past few months, he repeatedly allowed himself not the most pleasant words about the Irishman and suggested that he measure his strength.
As for Conor, he will receive as rivals not only the second number of the category rating, but also a comprehensively developed athlete, capable of becoming a test for him both in the stance and in the stalls. Justin is famous for his uncompromising style of fighting on his feet, but is able to cause problems on the ground. In his youth, he played in the first division of the NCAA wrestling.
A less obvious but not worse option is to meet Kevin Lee. He also specializes in grappling and is able to test McGregor's skills in this aspect, which is so necessary before the second fight with Nurmagomedov. Speaking about the monetary aspect, do not discount Porrier. At the tournament in Abu Dhabi, he fell in love with a lot of fans around the world, as a result of which his fight with Conor could bring a huge financial gain to the promotion. Do not forget that they have already met in the past, and fans love long stories of confrontations.
However, the duel with Jorge Masvidal should be called the highest priority. Over the past year, he has turned from the middleweight welterweight into one of the main MMA stars in the world, which automatically makes his battle with McGregor extremely logical. The clash of two popular fighters promises to be the highlight of the year in mixed martial arts and ideally set the stage for a rematch with Nurmagomedov. The victory over the current holder of the title of “toughest bastard” (BMF) will again make Conor the face of sports, as a result of which his future duel with Habib will be able to claim the title of the most anticipated not only in the history of MMA, but also martial arts in general.
At the same time, the UFC is disposed to organize this particular battle. At the end of the show in Las Vegas, White said that Masvidal’s next rival would be welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, but he was injured and dropped out indefinitely. The American remained in limbo, but his manager Abe Kawa proposed the championship to organize a fight for the time zone between Jorge and Conor. Given the current situation, it is possible that the match makers will agree with the proposal of the representative of the American. A possible meeting with Nurmagomedov will take place no earlier than autumn, which gives McGregor enough time to recover.
From a technical point of view, a fight with Masvidal is unlikely to be a comprehensive test for McGregor. Jorge prefers to fight in the stance and practically does not go on the ground, which will facilitate the task of Conor. Of course, he is unlikely to be able to avoid the clinch, but the absence of an exhausting struggle will increase his chances of success. Nevertheless, the American was already proving that he was an extremely unpredictable and dangerous opponent, capable of surprising even the most sophisticated professionals.
If defeated, McGregor will be the first fighter in UFC history to win titles in three different divisions, which will allow him to climb the Olympus championship again. After that, he will have the right to choose any opponent, and the leadership will make every effort to satisfy his whim. Nurmagomedov will have no choice but to agree to a meeting with the Irishman or voluntarily give the belt.