Earlier this month, in the main event of the massively hyped UFC 205, Conor McGregor knocked out Eddie Alvarez to win the UFC lightweight title. Given that McGregor already owned the UFC featherweight belt, he could then call himself the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes concurrently.
As a two division champ, McGregor had a plethora of matchup options at his fingertips – some at lightweight, others at featherweight. Last night, however, it was announced that McGregor had “relinquished” the featherweight title, which effectively halved the potential fights available to him. Thankfully the matchup that stands out as arguably the most compelling of the bunch is still very possible: a lightweight showdown with undefeated Dagestan native Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Like McGregor, Nurmagomedov also scored a big win at UFC 205. His was against dangerous top-10 lightweight Michael Johnson, who he tapped with kimura in the third round. With this win, Nurmagomedov extended his record to a glimmering 24-o, and established himself as the clear-cut number one contender at lightweight.
Under normal circumstances, Nurmagomedov could now look forward to a near-certain showdown with McGregor. As we know, however, McGregor plans to take some time off to father his first child with long-time girlfriend Dee Devlin. When the Irish star finally returns from this break, its also possible that he mixes it up with an opponent he deems more lucrative, such as welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, or his biggest rival, Nate Diaz.
Though it’s far from a sure thing that Nurmagomedov receives the next crack at McGregor, the hype for this potential matchup is perpetually building. This ever-growing hype can be attributed in part to awesome fan-made promo videos, like the one at the top of this article! Watch this video, which chronicles McGregor and Nurmagomedov’s slow cooking beef and their respective rises to the top of the lightweight division, and we guarantee you’ll be chomping at the bit to see the two fighters duke it out.
Who do you think wins a McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov bout? Sound off, PENN Nation!