Despite having to go up against the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC in December, Conor McGregor is already looking ahead to future challenges, according to the brand’s president, Dana White.
White was speaking on Fox Sports Live about the fighting Irishman and what could potentially be in store for him after the showdown with Jose Aldo at UFC 194. At the moment, it seems a fight with Frankie Edgar is much more likely than a showdown with fellow Ultimate Fighter coach Urijah Faber:
I doubt it [the Faber fight]. I just don’t see their career paths crossing that way. Anything is possible. Conor has a hard time making that 145-pound weight class, and I can see him going up before going down. …
He told me [if he beats Jose Aldo], he would also like to fight Frankie [Edgar]. So we’ll see how this thing plays out.
Admittedly, it is a big “if” as to whether he beats Aldo. McGregor may have been mightily impressive in knocking out Chad Mendes, who stepped in to replace the injured Brazilian at UFC 189, and has now proven he has what it takes to thrive on the biggest stage. But Aldo is a classy operator, having won all seven of his fights in the UFC.
Still, it's clear McGregor is assured about his chances against Aldo, as we can see per the UFC’s official Twitter feed:
"When we collide, he will collapse" @TheNotoriousMMA #UFC194: Aldo vs McGregor Saturday December 12th on Pay-Per-View pic.twitter.com/wVjDqqQtVQ
— UFC (@ufc) September 21, 2015
The Irishman has previously suggested he will move to lightweight after beating Aldo unless Edgar can turn in a glittering performance in his next fight. Edgar will go up against Mendes, the man McGregor conquered last time out, in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter, and a win there would see him well-placed for a potential shot at the UFC featherweight championship.
Even if McGregor does beat Aldo, MMA writer Jack Slack is unsure whether it will be easy be for him to make the move up the division:
How is Conor or Jose talking about going to lightweight still being passed off as news? The UFC is not letting anyone win a belt and move up
— Jack Slack (@JackSlackMMA) September 3, 2015
Faber lost to Edgar at featherweight in his previous bout, but being at close quarters with McGregor on The Ultimate Fighter has left many wondering whether the two might eventually square off.
As we can see here, the pair have gotten a little testy at times during The Ultimate Fighter series, with McGregor naturally confident of his chances of beating the 36-year-old:
As White notes himself, for a fighter like McGregor who struggles to make the 145-pound limit, it’d be a bit of a mismatch to see him up against Faber at featherweight, especially given the latter has fought a class down at bantamweight. Faber could also do with re-establishing his own standing after the loss to Edgar before taking on an elite competitor like McGregor.
So aside from a possible rematch with Mendes, who didn’t get a full training camp in the buildup to his fight with McGregor, Edgar does seem to be the obvious option left for the Irishman in the division. Indeed, there are plenty who’d be keen to see how the Irishman would fare a weight class higher, where the power and reach advantage he enjoys at 145 would not be quite so prominent.
