Dana White loves money. And he especially likes skilled fighters that make him money. For that reason, he will look to protect his business relationship with Conor McGregor through hell and high water – after all, the Irishman remains one of his most marketable stars.
𝟑𝟎 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒. #UFC264
[ @DustinPoirier | @TheNotoriousMMA ]
— UFC (@ufc)
But White can’t change the results of fights, and with three defeats in his last six outings McGregor heads into his trilogy contest with Dustin Poirier in July on his last chance.
Victory will likely earn him a shot at lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and the title the Irishman lost to all-time great Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018. That is, unless Poirier could somehow entice McGregor into the Octagon for a fourth time.
Another loss, and you wonder where the former two-weight champion goes from here. He will, after all, turn 33 on July 14, and with just four fights to his name since the start of 2017, this is not a guy that is busting a gut for the UFC brand.
A fighter with a number of recent losses becomes, in commercial terms, something of a dead duck for Dana White, and consequently, bouts featuring said grappler become tough to sell to a PPV-buying public.
Whether McGregor ends up taking this path remains to be seen. The bookmakers see his July 11 encounter with Poirier as a 50/50 contest, with both fighters given a -110 chance to win. Other online sports betting markets for the fight suggest that there’s little chance of the fight going the full five rounds, with McGregor at +138 to win by KO or TKO, and Poirier at +225 to do likewise.
It’s a scrap that could clearly go either way then – for McGregor, there is a desperate need for his hand to be raised at the end to protect his future in the business.
Diaz Dilemma
If the 32-year-old is able to see off Poirier, it’s almost a given that he will tackle Oliveira for the lightweight gold – either at the tail end of 2021 or into next year.
But if he loses? Options become more limited, and that’s even if you can persuade the multi-millionaire to pick up the 4-ounce gloves again. McGregor could, in theory, try his luck at welterweight, the division which he ventured into when dismantling Donald Cerrone in January 2020.
He has proven that he can step up to 170lb, but the issue is that he gives up the height and reach advantages that have been key to his success in the lighter weight divisions. Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman has four inches in height and two inches of reach over McGregor, so it’s difficult to see how the Irishman could challenge for the belt until there’s a change of champion.
Could he go the other way and scale down to featherweight? That would be very hard for an aging fighter to do, and it’s notable that he hasn’t fought at 145lb since 2015.
Without the lure of gold on the line, who else could McGregor realistically go toe-to-toe with?
It would have to be a brawler – a real no-nonsense striker that would give White an easy sell. There is unfinished business with Nate Diaz, with whom McGregor could enjoy a trilogy fight that would promote itself – even if Diaz is on a losing streak of his own.
Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 3 next is the ideal plan according to Diaz’s coach 🔥 #UFC #MMA
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom)
Jorge Masvidal is a guy who you suspect would fight anyone, anywhere, and he would not need his arm twisted to take on McGregor – potentially at a catchweight somewhere in the 160s. White has previously played down hopes of seeing the two icons lock horns, but as mentioned, another loss on the resumé of the Irishman is likely to bring these fights closer.
There are other distractions – McGregor is a businessman with a number of brands to his name, and he has suggested in the past that he has unfinished business in boxing too.
Make no mistake, if the Irishman was to walk away from the UFC – either through choice or a relative lack of interest in him – the sport of MMA would be worse off.