Having turned in one of the greatest fights in promotional history at UFC 202 last weekend, the question of what lies next for Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz has quickly risen to the top of the conversation in the MMA world. McGregor has called for a trilogy fight at 155 pounds (and hinted that “sh*t was about to hit the fan” between him and the UFC brass), Diaz has insisted that he “isn’t doing sh*t” until he gets the third fight, and for some reason, Dana White has sh*t on the mere idea of another immediate rematch.
It’s just sh*tty situation all around, really, which is why we brought in Brawler staffers Jason Nawara and Jared Jones in to help sort out what path the UFC should take with this rivalry next via a good old fashioned shouting contest.
Jason: We just witnessed one of the best fights of 2016. One that is going to lead to a third fight between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor sometime in the near future. But why wait? Why let the hype and buzz die down? Why? Why? Why, Jared?
Jared: Look, I’d love to live in the fantasy world where we get to watch McGregor and Diaz beat the everloving sh*t out of each other every four or so months, and after UFC 202, what self-respecting MMA fan wouldn’t? If Mystic Mac and that CBD-huffing, Stockton Heybuddy-flipping Terminator were just two guys without a title hope in mind, then there’d be no reason *not* to book them against one another in Kevin Owens-Sami Zayn-esque grudge matches for the rest of time. But as long as McGregor wants to keep brandishing that featherweight belt at every press conference and promotional event, he needs to actually defend the damn thing, don’t you think?
Jason: I guess. We know that Conor has never defended a title. He never defended his Cage Warriors lightweight title or featherweight title, and now he’s never defended his UFC featherweight title, but damn it, he’s right about one thing — there’s no one for him to fight at 145. I simply don’t care about Conor vs. Jose anymore. At least not as much as this trilogy. And what if Jose keeps getting injured? It’s not worth the effort when we have a glorious matchup with 66% of the story already written. This is gold, and a third match could lead to one of, if not the most exciting years in UFC… nay, MMA history.
Jared: You don’t care about Aldo. The UFC doesn’t care about Aldo. George Bush doesn’t care about Aldo…
You know who didn’t seem to care all that much about Conor vs. Nate II until the fight actually happened? EVERRRRYONEEEEE. I can’t even begin to name how many fans and sports personalities I saw taking to the Twitters and YouTubes to complain that this “completely unnecessary” rematch had “lost its heat” right up to the point that McGregor and the 209 crew decided to engage in an impromptu game of Monster Energy dodgeball. Conor McGregor is the best salesman in the game, and I refuse to believe that he wouldn’t be able to build anything off his 2+ year long rivalry with Aldo just because the fight ended in somewhat anticlimactic (and/or flukey) fashion.
As for the idea of Aldo getting injured again, well, that’s more of a “cross that bridge when/if we come to it” type of hypothetical to me. Let’s not forget that a last-minute injury is the whole reason that McGregor vs. Diaz existed in the first place.
Jason: I get it, I do. But the UFC threw “sport” out the window the moment they gave Chael Sonnen a title shot against Jon Jones. F*ck it. This is what the fans want, this is what the fighters want, and this is everything that martial arts is about. It doesn’t get better than this.
Jared: I won’t argue that the “sport” aspect of the UFC went by the wayside a loooong time ago, just like I won’t argue that giving Jose an interim belt just 7 months after McGregor took the actual one is beyond silly, but at the same time, this isn’t a Dominick Cruz situation. McGregor has no injury or excuse to prevent him from defending his belt against whoever the UFC deems fit, so let’s just put this (incredibly entertaining, incredibly lucrative) rivalry on hold for the time being and have the champion do what champions are actually supposed to do. Otherwise, you might as well just get rid of all the belts and have the UFC rebrand as the UMFC: Ultimate Money Fight Championship.
Jason: They don’t have to rebrand because this is the money fight. This doesn’t happen often, so let’s just see this out until the end. Trust me, I love Aldo! But Aldo doesn’t love me. Aldo is one of the best fighters ever, but that doesn’t change the fact that he fights on average 1.5 times a year over the last 5+ years. We need to get back on track here. We can’t let Aldo uncork lightning that’s currently residing in a bottle. Waiting any amount of time would lessen this story of Diaz vs. McGregor. What do we gain from not seeing this fight as soon as both competitors are medically clear? (I would prefer they fight on New Year’s Eve or March 2017 so all fights can happen within a year.)
Let me be clear — I totally agree about not caring about the Diaz/McGregor 2 at first. The fact is that feelings change, and people change, and drama affects a story that is now too good to pass up.
Jared: What do we gain from not seeing this fight immediately? How about what do we lose? Am I the only person left on this earth who appreciates a little good old fashioned suspense over immediate gratification? How does having McGregor defend his belt somehow lower his stock here?
If the UFC wants to strip McGregor of his featherweight belt in order to continue booking him in non-featherweight money fights, fine, I’ll give you that. But he can’t have it both ways, and he can’t put an entire division on hold just because everyone suddenly doesn’t care about about it anymore.
Jason: I don’t think the suspense would build, I think that over the years we’ve seen MMA fighters get hurt, fade, have other obligations that have led to collective blue balls for fans. Let’s get this done.
Jared: To which I say, so be it. The thing is, there’s approximately a 0.002% chance that a third fight would be able to live up the one we just saw, and like George Costanza, I prefer to go out on a high note. Not to mention, all the questions about McGregor vs. Diaz have already been answered. McGregor can’t knock him out, he can’t outlast him (see: the fifth round), and he sure as Hell can’t submit him. The only way he can beat Diaz would be to squeak out another close decision, and do we really want Diaz fanboys bitching about their boy getting “screwed” by those honky-ass judges again? A third (pardon me, “tird’) fight won’t prove anything that the second didn’t already.
Jason: It’s 1-1. There must be a third fight. Waiting just dilutes the drama. These men are perfect for each other right here, right now. A third fight might be bigger than the first two, and it would be a unique fun thing in a sport that so often sh*ts on its fans (intentionally or not). I simply think we all deserve this. Screw it, strip Conor or have Conor throw his belt into a garbage can on UFC Tonight. It’ll add to the buildup. Just make the fight happen!
Jared: Yeah, you’re probably right. I tell you what, let’s just have Mighty Mouse fight Aldo for the inaugural “Who Gives a Flying F*ckweight” Championship of the World and continue booking McG against Diaz until we’ve tainted any positive feelings we’ve had about the first two entries forevermore. It’ll be like the Saw franchise of MMA bouts, except gorier.
Jason: Agreed. I think we can also agree that Diaz should start bleeding during the walkout for the third fight. Friends?
Jared: Friends!
