Conor McGregor wasted no time in his return to the Octagon, knocking out Donald Cerrone Saturday night at UFC 246 in just 40 seconds and making it clear to the entire UFC roster: he’s back. The former champ now has a plethora of options, including a title fight at lightweight, a “title” fight for the BMF crown or a bout with another contender like Justin Gaethje.
In the post-UFC 246 press conference, the organization’s president Dana White cleared up what’s next for McGregor, adding that his future is directly tied to what happens when Khabib Nurmagomedov squares off with Tony Ferguson for the lightweight belt in April. White acknowledged that after McGregor’s explosive first fight against Nurmagomedov and following Saturday’s big win, he’ll compete for the lightweight title against the winner of April’s championship match.
McGregor was also officially named as the replacement for either Nurmagomedov or Ferguson, should either suffer an injury ahead of their title clash. There’s no question after making quick work of Cerrone that McGregor would be ready to go should he be called into action.
White later added that “the fight to make” for the welterweight crown is Jorge Masvidal against Kamaru Usman. Masvidal mentioned just days ago that the fight he wants is the big-money bout with McGregor. The issue with Masvidal-McGregor, White mentioned, is that neither fighter has a world championship. Instead, he’ll look to schedule the hottest fighter in MMA right now, Masvidal, against Usman, who’s coming off two dominant wins over Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington.
