After his stunning victory over the weekend at Madison Square Garden, Conor McGregor now has two UFC belts and a lot of options as to who to fight next. But if his coach John Kavanaugh has any say in his next opponent, it could be Nate Diaz again. Conor and Nate fought twice earlier this year, splitting the results. Now Kavanaugh wants to see a trilogy to wrap things up.
“I understand Khabib is the number one contender and it is probably going to be him, if that’s how the company works.” Kavanaugh said on The MMA Hour. “But for me, interest wise, the Nate Diaz fight interests me greater. If it’s Tony [Ferguson], if it’s Khabib [Nurmagomedov], great, they are two fantastic fighters and a lot to learn in the preparations for them. Both of their fights will be interesting to watch, a lot of problems for me to solve and to see Conor beat both of them will be interesting for me. But, I think Nate would be quite a bit better than either of them. As a fan, that’s the fight that would interest me most.”
It’d interest Nate Diaz too. Nate made a surprise appearance at Conor McGregor’s UFC 205 afterparty, and while the two fighters didn’t have a run-in, his presence there was a reminder that McGregor has unfinished business. Nate was kind enough to give Conor an immediate rematch after beating him in their first fight. So far Conor hasn’t returned the favor.
If McGregor listens to his coach, though, Diaz’s time may be soon. But first the UFC has to figure out a way to lure the Irishman back into the cage. After his victory over Eddie Alvarez, Conor McGregor declared he wasn’t fighting again until the new league ownership called him and gave him a proper piece of company equity. No fighter in the history of the sport has ever gotten that, so we could be headed towards a drawn out period of time before Conor returns to the cage against anyone.