White: Winner Of Khabib Vs. Ferguson ‘Probably’ Next For McGregor

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Conor McGregor came into 2020 with a slew of opponents on his plate, but now the former UFC two-division champion is seeing his options dwindle.

McGregor, who expects to fight three times this calendar year, returned from a 15-month layoff to defeat Donald Cerrone via 40-second TKO earlier this month at UFC 246. It was the first Octagon win for “Notorious” since taking out Eddie Alvarez back in 2016. The victory also helped McGregor regain any momentum he may have lost after losing to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov back at UFC 229.

After his UFC 246 win, McGregor refused to call any of his potential opponents out, taking a more calculated approach that has since been labeled “brilliant.” But with welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal now expected to fight Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title this July, McGregor’s list of potential opponents is beginning to shrink.

During a recent appearance on The Jim Rome Show, UFC president Dana White made that list even smaller, stating that McGregor should be focused on the winner of Khabib vs. Tony Ferguson scheduled for UFC 249 this April.

“Probably the winner of Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and Tony [Ferguson],” White answered when asked about McGregor’s next fight.

This shouldn’t come as a complete shock to fight fans considering McGregor has been lobbying for a rematch with Khabib since their first meeting, but it’s interesting that White is essentially closing the door on other potential matchups for McGregor like Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Nate Diaz. Any one of those guys would make for a good fight with McGregor, but White has bigger plans in the works as a rematch with Khabib would be massive for the company.

Either way, White is happy to be back in the Conor McGregor business and operating at full capacity entering the new year.

“He looked unbelievable in this fight,” White said of McGregor’s UFC 246 performance. “And for people that are saying Cowboy is shot, Cowboy is this—Cowboy is one of the best and one of the baddest to ever do it and he showed up to win that night and Conor McGregor ran through him like a freight train.

“McGregor looks better than he’s ever looked. His head’s in the right place. Mentally, physically and emotionally, he is ready to roll and I can’t wait until his next fight.”

What say you, Maniacs? Should McGregor get the winner of Khabib vs. Ferguson? If not, then who should “Notorious” fight?

Let’s hear it!