Conor McGregor vs. Rafael Dos Anjos Rumored For March’s UFC 198

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor was met with a wide variety of potentially blockbuster options when he unified the 145-pound title with a 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 194.

There was the obvious choice, a featherweight title fight against the glaringly deserving Frankie Edgar, but those plans appeared less and less likely when McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh suggested he didn’t want to see his fighter endure another taxing cut to 145 pounds.

So ‘The Notorious’ was rumored to be heading up to 155 pounds, where UFC President Dana White immediately declared he would get a title shot against the winner of Rafael dos Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone at December 19’s UFC on FOX 17. Dos Anjos steamrolled Cerrone in a mere 66 seconds to make him one of the favorites to fight McGregor next.

A potentially huge bout with Nate Diaz also arose when the Stockton bad boy beat Michael Johnson at UFC on FOX 17, but a rumor has surfaced today (Wed., December 30, 2015) that the promotion is going with the lightweight title fight instead.

Nothing has been announced nor made official as of this point, but ENtimports.com has reported that “sources close to the situation” confirmed that McGregor vs. dos Anjos is being targeted for March’s UFC 198 pay-per-view from Dallas, Texas.

The news, if it is found to have any truth to it, will certainly anger Edgar and his fans to an immeasurable degree. The former lightweight champion ‘Answer’ has won five straight fights at featherweight, with his most recent a first round knockout over Chad Mendes at the TUF 22 Finale; a feat even McGregor couldn’t accomplish when he fought “Money” earlier this year.

But the prospect of having their biggest star as a two-division champion was something the UFC just couldn’t pass up. Did they make the right decision?