UFC Matchmaker – What next for McGregor, Aldo, Rockhold and Weidman
What next after a historic night in VegasUFC 194 was a historic event. Biggest PPV of the year, 2nd biggest gate of all time and the emergence of the biggest star in a long time. Conor McGregor sent shockwaves through the MMA world by knocking the greatest featherweight of all time out in just 13 seconds.It’s such an amazing accomplishment that even after all these days, it still feels like a dream.McGregor’s win cements his status as the undisputed unified world featherweight champion and the biggest draw in the UFC. With the fight now in the past, attention is quickly turning to what the Irishman will do next. Will it be the lightweight title? Will it be Frankie Edgar in a featherweight defence? Will it be Jose Aldo? All questions worthy of debate.McGregor however was not the only newly crowned champion this weekend, Luke Rockhold emerged as the new middleweight champion after a dominant display against Chris Weidman. Just like McGreor, there are quite a few options for Rockhold that demand discussion.While it’s happy days for the new champions, Jose Aldo and Chris Weidman sit in the depths of the dark side of the sport. Both were humbled by foes who had called them inferior. Both will require some time to get mentally and physically ready and both may very well have to fight their way back into title contention.Here we look at the possible matchups for the 4 main eventers from UFC 194
#1 Conor McGregor
After his record breaking win at UFC 194, McGregor now has the eyes of the entire MMA world firmly fixed on his every move. He is the biggest star in the game and is one of the few fighters who can dictate his own career path almost independent from the whims and fancies of the UFC brass.
The first ever UFC undisputed champion from Ireland has separated himself from the pack. He is a category of 1 and has an entire nation behind him.
Despite Jose Aldo’s reign of dominance, his performance does not seem to warrant an immediate title rematch. With the Brazilian out, there are two paths left for Conor.
The first is that he stays at 145 and faces Frankie Edgar who has been promised a title shot. Edgar has a wave of support behind him and overcame Chad Mendes quicker than even McGregor did.
However a lot of what happens next with Conor depends on the outcome of next week’s lightweight title fight between Rafael Dos Anjos and Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
In an interview earlier this week, McGregor stated that should Cowboy emerge with the title, the UFC management would allow him to go up and attempt to become a 2 division UFC champion. McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh has stated that he does not want McGregor to make the cut to 145 again as it is too hard on the Irishman.
With the way the things are playing out, the future of 2 entire divisions rests on the outcome of the Dos Anjos vs. Cowboy fight. Should McGregor not move up, a long awaited Frankie Edgar fight would be a site to see.