The UFC welterweight division has officially turned into the Wild, Wild West\u2014a sultry, convoluted mess of a weight class with a handful of potential No. 1 contenders. Even former two-division champion Conor McGregor has somehow crept his way into the conversation of challengers to the Kamaru Usman throne.<\/p>\n
Apparently, that\u2019s what happens when your milkshake brings all of the pay-per-view buyers to the yard.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/espnmma\/status\/1265416578016804866<\/p>\n
The fight makes all of the sense in the world for Usman. It would basically pit him against the hottest draw in the company, who he just so happens to dwarf in both size and grappling abilities. A real opportunity to turn the UFC\u2019s cash cow into prime rib isn\u2019t something most fighters are willing to pass on.<\/p>\n
Say what you want about McGregor, but the brash Irishman isn\u2019t one to back down from a challenge. He\u2019s the same guy that was calling out the best featherweights on the planet when he was only two fights into his UFC career. He\u2019s the same fighter that willingly bumped up to lightweight to challenge and defeat former champion Eddie Alvarez. He\u2019s the same man that agreed to fight Nate Diaz with less than two weeks\u2019 notice at welterweight.<\/p>\n
If a bout came together that made sense, you can rest assured McGregor would show up with a bottle of Proper Twelve whiskey in one hand and a pen in the other, ready to do business. But the last thing the UFC needs is an incendiary contract that sparks an ugly crashing and burning of its megastar.<\/p>\n
Usman is basically a bigger version of Khabib Nurmagomedov with arguably better striking. So it\u2019s hard to make sense of believable odds for McGregor after he was consistently taken down and grinded into submission by the reigning lightweight king back in November 2018.<\/p>\n
Not to mention another loss would make him 3-3 in his last six fights, essentially eating away at the mystique of him being a viable title contender. It was no surprise when White vehemently swatted down the proposed bout.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, the next title fight for Usman is going to be one of these guys\u2014it\u2019s gonna be Colby [Covington], [Jorge] Masvidal, [Leon] Edwards,\u201d UFC President Dana White said during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be one of those guys. It\u2019s not gonna be Conor McGregor.\u201d<\/p>\n A non-title super fight<\/a> with MMA legend Anderson Silva at a catchweight would make more sense for McGregor than a fight with Usman at this point. There would likely be no threat of a takedown, and despite giving up size, McGregor would be the significantly younger fighter. The timing also seems right with much of the all-time great talk<\/a> swirling around at the moment.<\/p>\n I accept. https:\/\/t.co\/HYqF132EvZ<\/a><\/p>\n — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 28, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n