Conor McGregor headlining UFC White House against Michael Chandler is probably the most logical matchup for the fight night, as Bo Nickal opined. However, not all opinions are as simple as that, with Nickal’s P4P pick questioning the rankings set in stone.

As the White House fight night edges closer, the MMA community cannot help but speculate on potential matchups and title fights that will highlight the day. When Nickal joined that conversation, he challenged the P4P status quo.

Bo Nickal tears at the edges of the P4P consensus

Speaking with Helen Yee, Nickal detailed the two fights he’d be most looking forward to at the White House: “Conor McGregor fighting Michael Chandler. I think, you know, Topuria fighting Makhachev would be a big fight.”

Indeed, with McGregor and Chandler’s storied history, it would probably be the biggest headliner.

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The two fighters crossed each other’s paths on many fated occasions, but never once entered the Octagon together. While a UFC 303 fight was scheduled for the much-anticipated clash, McGregor’s on-camp toe injury acted as the spoilsport. Since then, while talks have ensued, the bout is still an unfulfilled promise written in the UFC’s pages, with the White House potentially closing the chapter.

By contrast, Topuria vs. Makhachev is an equally thrilling matchup, but one with slimmer chances of ever coming to fruition. Naturally, the conversations steered over to speculation, and Nickal’s take was nothing short of controversial.

“I think that Ilia’s skill set, what he’s able to do striking wise, as well as the grappling, he’s probably the pound-for-pound number one guy in the world for me and my views of what he’s able to do in the cage, especially after the three back-to-back finishes that he’s had,” Nickal stirred up the hornet’s net.

Bringing nuance to his response, he added, “Islam obviously has amazing grappling. He has a little bit of size. So, you know, depending on if it’s at 170, 155, I think that will play a little bit of a factor, but I got to go to Ilia, just because the well-roundedness and the striking, the power, I think it’ll translate up weight. Obviously, we’ve seen that with his last fight.”

While the P4P rankings place Topuria second to Makhachev, Nickal believes the Georgian’s well-rounded game and elite striking place him significantly above the Dagestani wrestler. Flashing an undefeated record (17-0-0), Topuria flaunts volume striking with near 50% accuracy, even though he comes short on takedowns. However, his near-perfect takedown defense easily compensates for that.

Moreover, with Topuria’s dominant victory against Charles Oliveira, who has the upper hand in size advantage, in sight, physicality differences against Makhachev aren’t the top of his concerns. That isn’t unique to Topuria, with Makhachev being a 2x UFC champion.

Clearly, the only way to settle the debate would be the hyped clash between the fighters. However, that bout is happening outside the Octagon, with Topuria having a more hostile take on the matchup.

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev trade barbs with each other

While Ilia Topuria has stepped away from the UFC for the moment, putting his lightweight crown on hold, he hasn’t taken a break from throwing cheap shots at his rivals. Makhachev, who has long been under discussion for a bout against Topuria, was one of the first to catch strays.

“They’re so cocky and arrogant, I would really love to submit him in front of [Nurmagomedov], and if Khabib wants to step in afterward, I’ll gladly step on his head, too,” Topuria dragged in Nurmagomedov, too.

Makhachev kept his calm when asked about the matter, leaving it to the cage.

“He has some kind of hatred towards us, but I think we’ll sort it out. Either before the fight, somehow, or maybe in the future. Right now, he’s on some kind of break. Maybe in the future we’ll settle it in the cage and see,” he told Ushatayka.

At the end of the day, with McGregor-Chandler and Topuria-Makhachev bouts on the line, the White House event is gearing up to be the most seat-gripping event of the year. Which bout would you personally want to watch? Comment below.