Conor McGregor is Indeed in Negotiations With the UFC to fight Donald Cerrone… That’s According to Brendan Schaub Who Says That a Contract Offer Has Already Been Sent to the Notorious…
After two massive, high-profile losses in front of the world, Conor McGregor needs to choose his next fight very carefully. Neither the defeat in the exhibition match against Floyd Mayweather or his brutal loss to Khabib Nurmagamedov have damaged his brand – but he needs to get back to winning ways and remind the world that he is first-and-foremost an effective fighter.
Since dropping his last fight to Khabib – and losing the chance of reclaiming the lightweight title, McGregor has been linked with multiple opponents. While he did call for a rematch with the Russian, that’s not going to happen anytime just soon. One: it’s too dangerous for his brand, and two: he needs to get in line.
That’s why a potential fight against Donald Cerrone has seized the imagination of fans. ‘Cowboy’ is a staunch favourite of diehard MMA fans. Now Brendan Schaub has confirmed that McGregor has been given an official offer for this fight to go down.
Conor McGregor with John Kavanagh. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports.
Offer
Cerrone makes sense for a lot of reasons. He’s got name recognition, has had a verbal beef with ‘The Notorious’ in the past and is also a decent stylistic match-up for him. Both men would be confident that they could vanquish the other with their respective skill sets. Former UFC fighter Schaub explained (via the Metro):
“The Donald Cerrone-Conor McGregor fight was offered, that’s the plan and they’re waiting for Conor to sign the contract,” Schaub said. “It’s up to Conor if he wants that as his next fight,” he added. “I know from a legit source close to the situation that that is the fight they want to do.”
Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports.
Matchmaker
This news is definitely interesting and it makes sense if it is genuine, because as the old saying goes: ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’ It could even have been leaked by the UFC to test the waters and see how fans would react to the possibility of a fight between McGregor and Cerrone. So far most fans have been very positive about it. Schaub continued:
“It’s up to Conor McGregor if he decides to sign the contract or not. But that fight, from what I’m told, has been offered. When Dana White said they haven’t thought of an opponent for either Khabib or Conor, that’s not true either. For Khabib it’s Tony Ferguson, for Conor it’s Donald Cerrone.”
Oh well, when has Dana White ever been known to lie? If this is true it’s good to know that Tony Ferguson is finally in line to get that elusive title shot, after being cruelly stripped of his interim strap. He looks set to be booked against Khabib for an incredible fourth time. Hopefully, it will actually happen.
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports
Denial
As Schaub said, Dana White has stringently denied that either McGregor or Nurmagamedov’s next opponent has been chosen. He told TMZ:
“That’s not true, absolutely not true. Obviously, that’s the fight that Cowboy Cerrone wants but that’s not true. We haven’t even thought about an opponent for either one of those guys yet – meaning Khabib or Conor. Those guys go before The Nevada State Athletic Commission in December than we’ll know what’s up.”
