UFC President Dana White Has Finally Responded to Questions About Whether or Not Conor McGregor Will Fight Donald Cerrone Next…
It’s very rare that a fight captures the imagination of fans so quickly, but rumours of Conor McGregor fighting Donald Cerrone have spread like wildfire. Many analysts including the likes of Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping believe that there’s no better fight for either man right now.
That’s obvious for Cerrone because a fight against McGregor would potentially earn him more than his total previous career earnings combined. Meanwhile, for McGregor, it would be an appealing stylistic match-up against a fan-favourite fighter who has never quite managed to embed himself as an elite top-contender in either the lightweight or welterweight divisions.
Now, UFC President Dana White has finally addressed the rumours that McGregor and Cerrone could be set to fight. He also gave an update regarding the Irishman’s coming hearing, which is due to commence on December 10.
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports
Not True
White insists that there is absolutely nothing behind this story. To be fair he’s probably speaking the truth to some extent because there’s no way the UFC will be opening up fight contract negotiations with a fighter who could be about to be suspended. He told TMZ Sports:
“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.
We’re not even thinking about it, it’s not even worth talking about because we don’t know how long the suspensions going to be, what fines it’s going to be, we don’t know the penalties yet. So you can’t even think about fights until you know what the penalties are.”
‘Cowboy’ Donald Cerrone. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Really?
Well, you know how the old saying goes: where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Donald Cerrone clearly believes that this is the fight to make and it seems like there must have been some discussion behind closed doors. It’s a fight that makes a lot of sense. Both men would fancy their chances, and the UFC would simultaneously give one of their most distinguished veterans a chance at glory and financial gain while offering McGregor a viable chance of getting a win against a very tough but beatable veteran.
Even if this has come totally out of the blue, White will surely have taken notice of how the UFC fan base has reacted to this potential match-up. It’s fresh and exciting. Unless there’s a chance of McGregor fighting Jose Aldo at lightweight or a trilogy with Nate Diaz, then this is the match-up to make.
Conor McGregor. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara, USA TODAY Sports.
Waiting Game
Unfortunately, as McGregor does his best to get suspended from fighting in every state in America (a little bit harsh yes – he didn’t start it this time), it does mean we’ll be waiting a while until we see what happens next. He needs to choose his next opponent very carefully. Win or lose, it could be a defining moment in his UFC legacy.
