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Next weekend sees Conor McGregor face off against Dustin Poirier for a third time at UFC 264. Win or lose, the Irish superstar will have plenty of questions to answer – namely what’s next for him – if anything – in the UFC?
Could we see Conor McGregor move up to welterweight for a run at 170lbs after his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264?
On the face of it, the idea seems crazy – particularly as 'Notorious' initially made his name in the UFC as a featherweight. But strangely enough, a permanent move to welterweight might be the most logical step for Conor McGregor; not just because it’d allow him to post more Instagram photos flexing his muscles.
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With that in mind, here are three reasons why Conor McGregor should make a move up to welterweight after UFC 264:
#1 A move to welterweight would allow Conor McGregor to finish his trilogy with Nate Diaz
Regaining the UFC lightweight title, currently held by Charles Oliveira, obviously holds some attraction for Conor McGregor. However, everyone knows that the real money fight lies elsewhere.
A fight that would probably see Conor McGregor shatter the UFC’s pay-per-view buy rate would of course be a third fight with Nate Diaz.
The two men famously battled on two occasions in 2016, with Diaz submitting McGregor at UFC 196 before the Irishman took some semblance of revenge with a decision win at UFC 202. Both fights drew over a million buys on pay-per-view, with UFC 202 setting the UFC’s all-time record until it was broken by UFC 229 two years later.
A trilogy fight has been mooted on several occasions in the years that have followed but is yet to take place.
Diaz has won just one fight since UFC 202 – a 2019 victory over Anthony Pettis – but losses to Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards haven’t dented his popularity. If anything, he’s a bigger star now than he was in 2016.
That means that a third fight with Conor McGregor would basically be an excuse to print money, meaning that it’d be music to the Irishman’s ears whether he wins or loses against Poirier next weekend.
And as Diaz now fights exclusively at welterweight – and the first two meetings between the two were also at 170lbs – it’d make sense for 'Notorious' to make a permanent move there to set this fight up.
#2 There’s a big-money fight with Jorge Masvidal at welterweight
One potential money fight that hasn’t been mentioned a lot – by both the UFC and the fans – is a clash between Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal. Quite why this is the case is a bit of a mystery.
Both men are amongst the best trash-talkers in the UFC, and could easily promote a fight between them as a must-watch showdown. Based on their previous behavior it’s easy to imagine a personal feud erupting – which would only make the eventual fight bigger in terms of hype.
More to the point, the styles of both men would make for a perfect storm inside the octagon. Neither Conor McGregor nor Jorge Masvidal enjoy fighting on the ground, and both are some of the best strikers in the UFC.
The idea that McGregor or Masvidal would even consider shooting for a takedown in this fight would largely be unthinkable – meaning we’d probably be treated to an incredible stand-up fight that could honestly go either way.
And it’s not like welterweight Conor McGregor would be at a huge size disadvantage, either – Masvidal himself is a former lightweight who only recently made a permanent move up to 170lbs.
Add in the fact that Masvidal has never put his ‘BMF’ title on the line, and the UFC could market this as a huge five-round pay-per-view main event. If nothing else, it’s a good enough reason for Conor McGregor to move to welterweight.
#3 Conor McGregor could talk his way into an unlikely shot at UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman
The idea that Conor McGregor could end up fighting Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title seems like a pipe dream right now. It will seem even more far-fetched should he lose to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. But is it really that unlikely?
Considering the recent back-and-forth between both men, it might not be. Sure, certain pieces might have to fall into place – namely Conor McGregor moving to welterweight and picking up at least one win, to begin with – but if that were to happen, then the road would almost be clear.
Why is that? Well, because Kamaru Usman is not only the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC right now, he’s also one of their most active athletes.
Since winning the crown from Tyron Woodley in March 2019, Usman has turned back the challenges of Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, and Jorge Masvidal on two occasions.
A rematch with Covington is supposedly next in line, but Leon Edwards has been campaigning for his shot at 'The Nigerian Nightmare'.
Even if both men have shots at Usman, based on both his current form and activity levels, he could beat them both by early 2022.
That’d leave the division with a gap when it comes to potential title challengers – meaning that if Conor McGregor were coming off a win at 170lbs, he could easily be pushed into a fight against Kamaru Usman.
'The Nigerian Nightmare' would be unlikely to balk at a potential fight with the Irishman as it’d make for the biggest payday of his career. Usman would also probably see it as an easy win and the UFC would have no issue in booking it even if McGregor wouldn’t really deserve the shot.
Incredibly then, McGregor might only be one fight away from a shot at the UFC welterweight title if he were to move to 170lbs. That alone should be a motivating factor for him to make the move.
