3. It Would be the End of Conor as a Lightweight Contender
You could make the argument that a loss to Alvarez would be the end of Conor McGregor at lightweight, even though he has stated he believes it to be his strongest division.
A loss to Alvarez would really limit the UFC’s ability to put Conor in future title opportunities in the division. Even though Alvarez is the champion, he arguably is only the 3rd or 4th best lightweight the company has.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, Michael Johnson (maybe), and possibly even Nate Diaz (maybe) could all arguably be considered better fighters than Alvarez. If Conor loses to him, it’s hard to make the case that he can be competitive at the top of the division.
A loss to Alvarez almost assuredly means Conor goes back down to featherweight and focuses his efforts there. That would leave a stacked lightweight division without Conor’s star-power putting a spotlight on it. That’s bad for business.
