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Nicolas Atkin

Conor McGregor talked excitedly about 2020 being a “season” for him, with plenty of big fights on the table as he announced him return to the UFC stage.
First, take out Donald Cerrone – mission accomplished, in devastating fashion. Then onto Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jorge Masvidal, Kamaru Usman, Nate Diaz or a combination of any of them.
The Irishman fought Cerrone at 170lbs so he could turn around quickly and fight UFC lightweight champion Khabib or Tony Ferguson, should either drop out of the fight.
There was another name in the frame, too – Justin Gaethje.


“Maybe I’ll get through Donald and I’ll have a quick turnaround against Justin,” McGregor told The Mac Life YouTube channel in January. “So maybe that’s what will happen. But Justin is on the list, no doubt.”
Well, Khabib vs Ferguson did indeed fall apart for a fifth time. It’s not McGregor filling in, though, but the No 4-ranked Gaethje, with “The Notorious” stranded in his native Ireland amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
UFC 249: Dana ‘starting to believe’ Khabib vs Ferguson is ‘cursed’
“It’s a no-brainer,” Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto this week. “Everybody felt if Conor was gonna get shot at Khabib that actually Gaethje should get it before Conor. It couldn’t have worked out any better. You get Gaethje vs Tony, it’s the fight that makes sense. It’s two of the top guys in the world. Khabib is out so the winner will face Khabib.”
So where does that leave McGregor and his season? The former featherweight and lightweight champion is now the odd man out in the 155lbs division, sent to the back of the line for title contention after he cut in front of Gaethje.
“This impacts everybody,” White added. “There’s three fights [cards] that have already been postponed that we’re gonna work out over next several works. I don’t know where this puts anybody. Conor really wants this rematch with Khabib. Khabib, Tony and Gaethje probably won’t fight again until September. Nobody saw this coming. It’s one of those things you can’t predict. We’re rolling with it. Gonna get it figured out.”

This was supposed to be the year McGregor reasserted himself as the UFC’s No 1 draw, after 14 months of inactivity following his October 2018 submission defeat by Khabib.
Now there’s a possibility he may not even fight again this year.
If his call-outs of Masvidal and welterweight champion Usman were for real, we won’t see that until after “Gamebred” and “The Nigerian Nightmare” have thrown down for the title.

But if the lightweight title is McGregor’s true goal, he is possibly looking at 2021 before he gets back in the Octagon.
White will be conscious of wasting a McGregor fight on an empty arena, too – he pulled in a US$10 million-plus gate for the fourth time in his career against Cerrone, selling out the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in minutes, and bringing in over a million pay-per-view buys.
As White noted, Las Vegas is “completely shut down” and the Covid-19 crisis shows no signs of abating in the US. That has seen the UFC relocate to a secret venue – reportedly the Tachi Palace Resort Casino in Northern California, according to MMA industry veteran Jeff Sherwood. The venue is on native American land that is not overseen by the state’s athletic commission, and White says he is “setting up shop” there for two months, but who knows how much longer he will need to stay.

McGregor would not even be able to fight there, either – he’d have to be flown in to White’s secret private island where he is planning on hosting cards for internationally-based fighters who can’t get into the US.
Would you really want the industry’s biggest draw competing in such a hokey gimmick? Surely you wait until fans are allowed to attend on a mass scale, and that possibly puts us into September, perhaps, and that is when Khabib will face the new interim lightweight champion.
It’s a shame for McGregor, whose focus looked renewed – maybe even better than during his rise to superstardom – in that 40-second destruction of Cerrone.

All is not lost, though – the Nate Diaz trilogy is still on the table, which is no bad thing from either a financial or fight quality perspective.
You could also throw him against former interim champion Dustin Poirier, with the promise of a future title shot on the line.
All that’s certain is White and the UFC will look to get the most out of their cash cow, whomever he fights next, and that could mean waiting a while.


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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Conor McGregor the odd man out in UFC 249 shake-up as Justin Gaethje vs Tony Ferguson leaves him in cold

Conor McGregor celebrates his first-round TKO victory as he exits the arena against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. Photo: AFP

FILE - In this July 7, 2016, file photo, Dana White, center, stands between Nate Diaz, left, and Conor McGregor during a news conference in Las Vegas for UFC 202. Diaz beat McGregor by submission in the second round of a welterweight bout March 5 at UFC 196, ending McGregor's 15-fight winning streak. McGregor had asked for a quick rematch and it was scheduled during the landmark UFC 200 card in July, but McGregor announced he was retiring during the spring. He later relented, but by then UFC had dropped him from that card. Saturday's rematch was announced in June. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Oct 6, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Khabib Nurmagomedov (red gloves) fights Conor McGregor (blue gloves) during UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 18: Conor McGregor (L) punches Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout during UFC246 at T-Mobile Arena on January 18, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. McGregor won by first-round TKO. Steve Marcus/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

MMA Mixed Martial Arts - UFC 246 - Welterweight - Conor McGregor v Donald Cerrone - T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States - January 18, 2020 Conor McGregor celebrates his win against Donald Cerrone REUTERS/Mike Blake TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

UFC 249: Dana White ‘starting to believe’ Khabib vs Tony Ferguson fight is ‘cursed’

Dana White separates Khabib Nurmagomedov (left) and Tony Ferguson during the UFC 249 press conference at T-Mobile Arena on March 6 in Las Vegas. Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

FILE - In this June 8, 2019, file photo, Tony Ferguson, right, punches Donald Cerrone, left, during their lightweight mixed martial arts bout at UFC 238 in Chicago. The UFC says Ferguson will fight Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18, 2020. The mixed martial arts promotion announced the matchup Monday, April 6, 2020. Gaethje replaces lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is apparently unable to leave Russia during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski, File)

Dana White ‘setting up shop’ in UFC 249 location with fights every week amid coronavirus chaos

President Donald Trump looks on as UFC president Dana White speaks during a campaign rally in Colorado Springs. Photo: AP

Dana White is ‘a day or two away’ from securing private island for UFC fights during coronavirus crisis

Dana White speaks at a news conference after UFC 229. Photo: AP

Sport

Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts


‘The Notorious’ is without a fight in the lightweight division for the foreseeable future
With Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman seemingly tied up, it might be Nate Diaz or bust for McGregor



Conor McGregor is without a fight in the UFC lightweight division for the foreseeable future after Justin Gaethje stepped in for Khabib Nurmagomedov against Tony Ferguson.


Conor McGregor

Dana White

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

The Takedown

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} ‘The Notorious’ is without a fight in the lightweight division for the foreseeable future With Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman seemingly tied up, it might be Nate Diaz or bust for McGregor

‘The Notorious’ is without a fight in the lightweight division for the foreseeable future

With Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman seemingly tied up, it might be Nate Diaz or bust for McGregor