There is just under one month to go before Conor McGregor returns to the octagon for his shot at redemption at UFC 264. It is undeniably one of the biggest UFC events of the year, and like every McGregor fight, there is likely to be huge fanfare around the event.
Some might argue that McGregor isn’t the best fighter and that is overrated. The truth is, just like Bob Baffert’s horses always headline the favorites in the horse racing events of TwinSpires betting site, McGregor is always a bookmaker’s favorite in any fight.
Dana White has promised a full house for the T-Mobile Arena, with many of the fans in attendance likely to be McGregor fans hoping to call home the Irish fighter to avenge the defeat that he suffered at the hands of Dustin Poirier earlier in the year. However, what could be next on the agenda for McGregor after his showdown next month?
Potential Title Opportunity
McGregor’s goal at the beginning of the year seemed to be pretty clear. In his mind, he would have beaten Poirier to set up a lightweight title opportunity against whichever fighter was holding the gold. To a degree, that mission remains almost the same, as victory against Poirier in Vegas will likely mean that McGregor becomes the leading challenger for the title.
White is yet to confirm whether the winner of the rematch will get that title opportunity, but you would hazard a guess that a decision will be confirmed shortly after the winner is announced.
McGregor last challenged for the title against Khabib Nurmagomedov, but he was beaten by submission in the fourth round. A rematch with the Russian looks extremely unlikely, but Charles Oliveira would likely be willing to take on the Irishman.
Diaz Trilogy Fight
Another fight that McGregor has been openly speaking about over the past couple of months is the trilogy fight against Nate Diaz. Fans had been hoping that the trilogy fight would have happened by now, but nothing has materialised.
The fact that McGregor is still speaking openly about potentially getting in the octagon for a final time with Diaz means that it could be a fight that we may see happen regardless of whether he wins or loses against Poirier.
A defeat would make it a more likely situation, as McGregor wouldn’t have the form behind him to challenge for the lightweight title. The two UFC stars have met on two previous occasions, with both battles coming in 2016.
Diaz won the first fight between the two by submission in the second round, before McGregor got his revenge just a few months later by claiming a decision victory after five rounds at UFC 202.
Return To Boxing
McGregor has always remained open about his chances of returning to the boxing ring, and defeat against Poirier could lead that to happen.
His first fight against Floyd Mayweather was a huge box office draw, and there were rumours before the second fight against Poirier that McGregor was eyeing up a mega-money showdown against Manny Pacquiao.
His defeat in January meant that fight never happened, but there is a slim chance it could still happen in the future. One boxer that would seemingly be very open to getting in the ring with McGregor remains Jake Paul.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer has fought professionally on three occasions, and beat former UFC star, Ben Askren, earlier this year. He has another UFC opponent in his sights in August as he clashed with Tyron Woodley.
Paul has constantly been calling out McGregor on social media, and the fight could be an easy one to book should the Irishman want to take his chance to silence the 24-year-old. There is certainly no doubt that a lot of boxing and UFC fans would be willing McGregor to take the fight.