The future looks as uncertain as ever for former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor. Although he has recently been linked to a fight with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, it now sounds like this fight is off the table, rendering his next outing a complete mystery.
Yet during a weekend visit to Chicago, Conor McGregor dropped the news that he is currently in negotiations for his next fight. He didn’t specify the opponent for this next outing, but confirmed that it’s being targeted for July — most likely for the UFC’s famous International Fight Week, which usually includes the biggest fight card of the year.
”Yes, we’re currently in negotiations, we’re aiming for July, we’ll see what happens,” McGregor said, adding that he’s been staying in shape, even during his tour of the United States (transcript via MMA Mania). “I am staying ready. This morning I was doing incline sprints on the treadmill on my program, the McGregorFast program, today in a hotel room. So we’re staying on it, getting work in as we go.”
For a time a fight between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone seems like a near certainty, with UFC President Dana White giving it his stamp of approval and both fighters seemingly agreeing to it. Unfortunately, the negotiations for this bout seem to have hit a standstill, allegedly because the UFC wanted to book it as a co-main event, and McGregor wasn’t interested in fighting in stepping outside the headlining role.
Whatever the case, it seems that the Irishman will be back in the cage soon.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/17/2019.