Jeremy Stephens believes the fight to make is him vs. Conor McGregor.
Stephens and McGregor have a history at the UFC 205 press conference where Stephens said he would be the toughest fight because he’s the real hardest hitter at 145lbs. Of course, the Irishman followed it up with the famous, “who the f**k is that guy line” which went viral.
Ever since then, many have wanted to see a McGregor-Stephens fight happen but their careers have gone in different directions. Now that they are both lightweights and both coming off a loss, Stephens thinks it makes perfect sense to make the fight.
Just thinking… the true fight to make is me and Connor. He broke his ankle, someone dove for my ankle. We both like to fight and keep it standing. Both power both different. Plus I like to calve kick and have wide range of KO’s
— Jeremy Stephens (@LiLHeathenMMA) July 20, 2021
“Just thinking… the true fight to make is me and Connor. He broke his ankle, someone dove for my ankle. We both like to fight and keep it standing. Both power both different. Plus I like to calve kick and have wide range of KO’s,” Stephens wrote.
Although Stephens believes the fight makes sense, it likely will not happen. Despite McGregor being ranked ninth at lightweight, he will likely either face Nate Diaz or face a top-ranked lightweight in his return. His return bout could also be for the belt if Dustin Poirier is the champ and they want to do the fourth fight.
Conor McGregor is coming off back-to-back losses to Poirier and last fought back at UFC 264 on July 10. There, he had some success early but he broke his leg after spending much of the first round on his back. Prior to that, he suffered a TKO loss to Poirier at UFC 257 in January which marked his first fight in a year. On paper, a Stephens fight is very winnable for the Irishman and potentially could be a tune-up fight of sorts so he can get back into the win column. Yet, if Stephens wins, his star power would only grow by defeating the Irishman.
Would you like to see Jeremy Stephens vs. Conor McGregor?