Conor McGregor Reportedly In Negotiations For Two Fights In 2018
Dana White insisted Conor McGregor ‘understands the decision to strip him’ of his lightweight title, but some further news has surfaced suggesting that may be a moot point.
According to Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline.com (via Bloody Elbow), McGregor is in negotiations to return for not only one UFC fight in 2018 but two:
“The word is that negotiations with Conor McGregor are going well. No deal to return has been inked but they are said to be not so far apart and are in talks about him doing two fights in 2018.”
A ton of heat has recently surfaced about McGregor possibly returning to face Floyd Mayweather, whom he lost a tenth-round TKO in their hyped boxing match last August, in the Octagon.
However, Meltzer believes that Mayweather will not ultimately sign with the UFC to compete in a sport he would be at a massive disadvantage. And if he does not, the obvious choice for McGregor in the UFC would be a bout versus the winner of UFC 223’s Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov main event:
“All the pub right now is Mayweather under MMA rules but I can’t see Mayweather agreeing to that, even though it’s huge money,” Meltzer noted. “The UFC fight idea is the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov”
It’s an obvious choice, yet there’s far from a guarantee that McGregor will return to the UFC in 2018, if ever again.
He made a reported $100 million to box Mayweather, and as White hinted in his recent interview where he said Ferguson and Khabib would be fighting ‘for the title,’ he wouldn’t go as far to say that the UFC had officially stripped “The Notorious.”
Many believe that’s coming right before UFC 223.
With White noncommittal on McGregor’s return and the Irish star recently having broken the record for the longest UFC title reign without defending, everything is still as clear as mud.
We don’t fully know what’s going on behind the scenes, but if Meltzer’s report proves true, something huge could be coming soon.
“”We’ll see what happens” – Dana White
