Conor McGregor Could Be the Odd Man Out in the UFC's Lightweight Title Picture
The UFC's lightweight division is in flux right now.
At the top is current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and while many fans agree that he's a deserving a titleholder, it's hard to ignore the fact that he didn't fight either of the two other top-ranked contenders in the division to claim his title.
Then there's Tony Ferguson, one of the aforementioned top contenders in the division who was pulled out of a fight with Nurmagomedov and lost his interim lightweight title due to an injury.
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There's also Georges St-Pierre, a longtime welterweight fighter who climbed up to middleweight to win that division's title only to relinquish it quickly after due to health reasons. He's now getting buzz as a potential lightweight contender.
Last up is Conor McGregor, the man who is arguably the UFC's most popular fighter today and someone who was also stripped of the lightweight title because he took too long to defend it. He's currently ranked as the number one contender in the division, per the UFC.
Because of his injury, it may take time before Ferguson can be a factor in the division again, so that would leave Nurmagomedov, McGregor and St-Pierre as the three main players.
The people at Nurmagomedov's camp seem to be focused on making a fight with just one of those two other fighters at the moment, however.
Speaking recently to MMA Fighting.com, Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has stated: "We believe the fight to make is the Georges St-Pierre fight at 155 pounds."
Abdelaziz added that the current lightweight champ is more interested in fighting for his legacy, hence the preference for St-Pierre. Abdelaziz also indicated that they believe McGregor does not deserve a title fight next.
It's not really that difficult to imagine the UFC making that Nurmagomedov–St-Pierre fight. St-Pierre has always been a big draw for the company, and if he wins, then he becomes an even more legendary figure in MMA. If Nurmagomedov wins, then the folks at the UFC can promote him as the next unbeatable fighter.
That setup could really work well for all three parties involved, but it's probably not ideal for McGregor.
McGregor is long overdue for a return to the Octagon, but doing so in a high-risk low-reward non-title fight may not be what he wants. Even the best fighters in the world can have bad nights, and if McGregor stumbles in a non-title fight, the reputation he's worked to build up for so long could suddenly start to show some cracks.
So, is McGregor just going to have to bite the bullet and work his way back to a title shot, or is there still hope that he will be the next challenger for Nurmagomedov?
Well, Abdelaziz did not rule out that latter possibility, hinting that Nurmagomedov is interested in fighting McGregor in order to teach him a lesson.
It also helps McGregor that UFC president Dana White thinks that a fight taking place between him and Nurmagomedov has a good chance of happening, per a recent report from ESPN.
McGregor may not be Nurmagomedov's preferred opponent at the moment, but that does not necessarily mean that a fight between the two will not be the next lightweight title bout.
