2. Future Lightweight Title Fights
The lightweight title picture is about as messed up as it gets. While Conor winning the lightweight title doesn’t really clean things up, it does create some interesting potential title fights.
The consensus #1 contender, and uncrowned champion of the lightweight division is a Khabib Nurmagomedov. Reasons as to why Khabib has not received a title shot, despite being the only undefeated lightweight to have fought more than twice for the company, are hard to come by. Khabib’s first fight in the UFC was in January 2012, and he has won 7 straight, including defeating former champion Raphael Dos Anjos.
A fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov would make a huge PPV main event in 2017. An Eddie Alvarez vs Khabib Nurmagomedov title fight would not draw the same interest from casual fans.
This weekend Tony Ferguson defeated former LW champion Raphael Dos Anjos, and arguably did enough to earn the next title shot as well. Ferguson has said he is going to focus on winning fights and not talking himself into a title shot, in contrast to the trend taking place throughout the company. Oddly enough, this approach makes a Conor McGregor vs Tony Ferguson lightweight title fight all the more intriguing.
An Eddie Alvarez vs. Tony Ferguson lightweight title fight on the other hand, would probably need a bigger fight on top for it to do well on PPV.
