UFC Lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos thinks a future fight with Conor McGregor would be “easy money” for him.
The Brazilian title-holder was speaking ahead of his upcoming bout with Eddie Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 90 and was asked about a possible showdown with the Irishman in the months to come. Dos Anjos insisted he would relish the opportunity and McGregor would not be able to cope with him.
“If this fight happens down the road I will be there,” he said, per Dan Shapiro and John Morgan of MMA Junkie. “If UFC thinks he deserves a lightweight shot I will be there. I think money comes and goes. What comes easy, goes easy, and that would be an easy money.”
The pair were meant to meet at UFC 196 earlier this year before the champion pulled out of the contest with a foot injury. Nate Diaz stepped in for what became a welterweight tussle and sprung a surprise win against McGregor; the rematch will be staged at UFC 202.
Diaz was able to overpower the Notorious inside two rounds, eventually taking his back and forcing a submission. Dos Anjos doesn’t think McGregor would make it that far against him.
“Against me…[the finish] should be even earlier, I would hurt that guy,” said the lightweight champion. “He will get hurt one day, and I think it will not be funny if I say something to him.”
The bout against Alvarez will be Dos Anjos’ first since coming back from injury. As reported by Martin Domin of the MailOnline, McGregor had stated that Dos Anjos was merely suffering with a bruise, although his team stated it was broken.
Much has gone on since then, with McGregor losing to Diaz and then being tangled up in a row with the UFC due to his unwillingness to fulfil media obligations. The latter issue saw the rematch taken off the bill for UFC 200.
Throughout this furore, the Irishman remains the company’s featherweight champion, with Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo fighting for an interim version at UFC 200. FloSports’ Jeremy Botter is unsure whether he’ll ever drop to that weight class again:
Compare Cyborg today to McGregor’s 145 cuts where he looks like a corpse. People still want Conor to defend FW belt. Don’t get it.
— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) May 13, 2016
There would still be big fights for McGregor at featherweight. A rematch with Aldo would generate a lot of interest, whereas a bout with Edgar, a man with a skill set to trouble the champion, at Madison Square Garden later in the year would also be fascinating should he become the interim title-holder. But there will be opportunities for McGregor in the larger classes.
Dos Anjos seems to be one, and the Brazilian seems keen to silence the bullish McGregor.
“I think sometimes he crosses the line a little bit…I will never do something similar,” said the champion in reference to McGregor interrupting him during a previous press conference. Here’s what the Irishman had to say that day (warning, includes expletive language):
There are other men who will feel as though they have earned a shot at the lightweight title before McGregor. Khabib Nurmagomedov is unbeaten in the UFC and was an emphatic winner against Darrell Horcher in his last outing, while Tony Ferguson is also on a seven-fight sequence of victories.
McGregor has some big decisions to make whether he wins or loses against Diaz at UFC 202. A win for Edgar over Aldo would surely prompt the UFC into forcing the Irishman to face him or give up the featherweight strap. If he does decide to remain in the heavier divisions, it feels inevitable the Notorious will cross paths with Dos Anjos at some point.
