Current UFC Champion teases fight with Conor McGregor in July
Conor McGregor is in a prime position to enter the UFC Lightweight Championship picture again. If Khabib Nurmagomedov manages to defeat Tony Ferguson on April 18th, UFC will pressure the Russian to have a rematch against McGregor.
Should either Nurmagomedov or Ferguson pull out, however, then McGregor is reportedly set to step in as a replacement, as he doesn't believe the fight will be happening. Even then, McGregor also teased continuing at Welterweight after UFC 246 and kept his options open as to which opponent he has next.
Before UFC 246, McGregor even brought up Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman's name as a potential opponent - to which The Nigerian Nightmare responded by shutting him down and warned him.
When speaking to MMAFighting (H/T BJPENN.com) backstage at UFC 247, Kamaru Usman said that the deal with Jorge Masvidal still isn't signed:
“If that’s one thing you guys know about the UFC is that nothing is official a done deal unless it is a done deal,” Usman said backstage at UFC 247. “So, no we haven’t signed anything yet.”
He said he's more than open to face McGregor for the payday that it offers:
“Everybody likes Red Panty Night, right? I like Red Panty Night myself,” he explained. “So, it is what it is. Once those contracts are signed, everything is signed, sealed and delivered.”
He said that anything could happen:
“Absolutely, what. That might be the nice Red Panty Night with the laces and everything. Anything could happen. Let’s just say that, anything could happen.”
He said that he would hope for it to be on International Fight Week this July. That's the date when he's expected to face Jorge Masvidal for the UFC Welterweight Championship. Masvidal is the next clear-cut contender in line for a title shot and from the look of things, will be the one facing Usman at International Fight week.
It's interesting how both Masvidal and Usman would much rather fight McGregor than someone in their division. Masvidal himself admitted that if the money involved were the same, Usman would be his first preference. Either way, a title shot isn't a bad alternative.