Fans of Conor McGregor will have to wait quite some time for him to return to the UFC. In his absence, Nate Diaz is now heavily linked to a welterweight title fight against Tyron Woodley…
Current UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is quite the oddity. Although he surged to fame and championship glory in just three years, his UFC career has consisted of just three fights in nearly two years.
Prior to defeating Jose Aldo for the featherweight title, McGregor was averaging two-to-three fights per annum. Why the long stints of absence, then? Part of it has been born of his rise to global popularity.
This year, McGregor featured in a bizarre yet wildly popular boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. Facing one of the greatest boxers in his debut, McGregor was predictably outclassed.
Having gone his entire UFC career, including title reigns in two divisions, without a single title defense, McGregor has faced mounting criticism from fans and other fighters.
Don’t Hold Your Breath
With the recent news that Nate Diaz is rumored to return to a title fight with Tyron Woodley, a unification scrap with Tony Ferguson is all that remains for ‘The Notorious.’ Unfortunately, that may not be for some time.
According to McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, the Irish star is going to be out for at least another five=to-seven months! Quotes as per Irish Mirror:
Just saw John Kavanagh who was very surprised by the Woodley vs. Diaz rumours. Says Conor probably won’t return until April or mid next year. Still have to go through negotiations with the #UFC to place deal for next fight.
At this rate, UFC president Dana White may have to go back on his previous comments. After McGregor demanded part equity or he would never fight again, White said the UFC wasn’t looking for co-promoters.
With the potential of lightweight going stale again, just like featherweight did, the promotion needs McGregor to get back to fighting action in their Octagon.
On to some good news…
Tyron Woodley signs contract to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 219…
As per TMZ Sports:
“All you gotta say is ‘Yes,'” Tyron said in a message to Nate on “The Hollywood Beatdown” show … “Put the ink to the paper and we done.”
“Guys in our sport bump their gums quite a bit and they get you to think they’re these huge tough guys … they’re these gangsters that they’ll fight anybody, anytime.”
“And then when you get in front of a person like me … the crickets start to come out. They don’t really wanna fight.”
“Now it’s happening with baby brother [Nate] so I guess it’s in the bloodline.”
