“Any Time Conor McGregor Is Fighting Is Exciting” – Dana White on Next Lightweight Title Contender

On paper, the Lightweight division has a clear picture of the two people who will fight for the undisputed belt. Justin Gaethje became the interim champ by defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. He should be the one challenging Khabib Nurmagomedov for the belt. However, Conor McGregor has the power to put himself in any pairing, courtesy of the massive draw that he is. Therefore, Dana White cleared the picture on who he wants to fight for the belt next.

Ahead of the second UFC event within a week, White talked to ESPN 1000 Chicago. He confirmed that Gaethje vs Nurmagomedov is the fight that he plans to make next. Khabib is currently marooned in Russia. The divisional kingpin will be on a hiatus for some time since it is Ramadan. He will be fasting from April 24 to May 23.

“The Eagle” has hinted that he will look to come back into the Octagon by early September. It is highly unlikely that things would go back to normal by then. Hence, Dana expects that the title unification bout will take place on his new ambitious project – Fight Island.

“I don’t know if it will be the first one, but it will be on Fight Island unless miraculously the world comes back together faster than I think it’s gonna,” Dana said.  “Hopefully, it will be done by mid-June, and I could put on a fight that weekend that it’s done or end of June.”

Dana White gives an update on Conor McGregor

Yesterday, Conor McGregor unleashed a Twitter tirade targeting all the big names at 155-pounds. Tony Ferguson, Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov – all of them were the targets of the former double champ. Conor also wanted to clean the division and move up to 170 pounds.

However, the biggest itch for the Irish star is that he still hasn’t settled scores with his former rival, Khabib. Dana White was very eager at one point to set up the rematch between the two. However, with the rise of Gaethje, the paradigm has changed. Seeing how dominant Justin was against Tony, people are intrigued by his pairing with Khabib.

“Any time Conor McGregor is fighting, it’s exciting, but yeah, I’m very excited for Gaethje versus Khabib. I think stylistically it’s a great matchup. I’m looking forward to it,” White added.

McGregor was linked to a fight with Justin since last year. However, objectively speaking, McGregor doesn’t deserve a shot against either Khabib or Gaethje at this moment. He still has to make his way up a division that is full of bonafide killers. A fight against the man he has already beaten, Dustin Poirier, makes much more sense for both of them.

Who do you think should Conor fight next?