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The impending return of storied UFC champion Conor McGregor looms over the sport of MMA and while he won’t be fighting until UFC 246 in January, the results of 245 could play a major role in how McGregor’s 2019 fight schedule could shape up.
Last stepping into the octagon in 2018, McGregor suffered a loss at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov in a fight for the lightweight belt. Following a convincing defeat at the hands of Nurmagomedov, the situation in the ring turned ugly as Khabib and his corner instigated a full-on brawl with the McGregor camp. Both McGregor and Nurmagomedov were hit with heavy suspensions for the altercation.
McGregor has already come out and said he plans to fight three times in 2019. His return fight is against UFC veteran Donald Cerrone and given how his last fight ended, a likely rematch with Nurmagomedov is still in the cards. That leaves one fight in 2019 still up in the air and how UFC 245 shakes out could hold the key.
UFC 245 takes place Saturday, December 14 at 10 p.m. ET in Las Vegas. It will air as a pay-per-view on ESPN+.
How UFC 245 Impacts Conor McGregor
Throughout his career, Conor McGregor has fought at featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. Though mostly expected to drop back down to lightweight following his fight with Donald Cerrone, a win would put him in the position to make an assault on the welterweight crown. With Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington set to do battle, a potential matchup of either against McGregor would undoubtedly be one of the biggest draws in recent UFC memory.
Barring an extremely close decision in the UFC 245 headliner, the welterweight champion should have a mostly free calendar with a return timeline that matches up eerily similar to McGregors – who fights four weeks later. Though Jorge Masvidal seems to have earned himself the next title shot at welterweight, it would be hard to deny a massive name like McGregor a shot at the belt.
One interesting avenue, should McGregor win but the UFC feels that he needs a bit more time to shake the ring rust, could be a potential title eliminator against Masvidal. McGregor was a major part of the design process for Masvidal’s BMF belt and was especially vocal in the buildup to the BMF belt fight – going as far as to say he would be interested in fighting the winner.
Especially considering the time spent away from training camps and the fact that McGregor is starting to get older, cutting down to either 145 or 155 is an increasingly difficult task for the Irishman. While he gives up a bit of size fighting at 170 pounds, it is much closer to his walking-around weight and he has shown the ability to compete with – and beat – one of the top fighters in the division.
McGregor has always pushed himself in the ring and with belts at 145 and 155, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility to think that the “champ champ” could be looking to become the “champ-champ-champ” and take on a new challenge at welterweight. Should he pull it off, McGregor would go down as the first fighter in the history of the UFC to win a belt in three different weight classes.
UFC 245 airs December 14 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+. You can order it here.
Colby Covington and Conor McGregor’s Beef
With Colby Covington fighting for the welterweight belt at UFC 245, it sets up a potentially electric storyline should Covington and McGregor both win their respective fights. Though fairly one-sided, Covington has never been shy about taking shots at the “champ-champ”.
In the midst of McGregor’s legal troubles in April of 2018, Covington sent out a tweet bashing McGregor and offering to bring him in himself.
Though McGregor has yet to engage Covington back, he has never been one to back down from a war of words and the buildup to a potential showdown between McGregor and Covington would undoubtedly be one for the ages.
Conor McGregor’s Recent Legal Troubles
Speaking of the McGregor’s legal issues, his time away from the sport has been marred in controversy. In early 2019, McGregor was involved in an incident at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami where a man filed both civil and criminal charges against McGregor. McGregor was said to have taken the man’s phone and smashed it on the ground. While arrested and charged with strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief both the criminal and civil cases would be quickly dismissed due to inconsistencies in the victim’s testimony.
However, McGregor’s run-ins with the law would be far from over. In April of 2019, McGregor was involved in a bar fight in Dublin. TMZ later released a video of the incident in August which clearly shows McGregor punching an older man after a dispute seemingly over McGregor’s whiskey. McGregor was charged with assault and on November 1st, wound up pleading guilty to the charges and was fined €1,000.
Conor McGregor’s Notable UFC Wins
Though McGregor has gone just 2-2 over his last four fights, the original “champ-champ” built his legacy on the back of an incredible win streak spanning two of the UFC’s deepest divisions.
Pushed to his limits in his second UFC fight by fellow up and comer and now current featherweight champion, Max Holloway, McGregor then went on a knockout spree. Finishing Diego Brandao, Dustin Poirier, Dennis Siver, Chad Mendes, and Jose Aldo all via knockout within the first two rounds, McGregor established himself as the sport’s premier knockout artist. His decimation of Aldo, in particular, etched his name in the UFC history books.
Riding an 18-fight win streak and arguably the sport’s pound-for-pound king, Aldo was largely considered untouchable at featherweight. McGregor quickly turned that notion on its head and knocked out Aldo in just 13 seconds, the fastest ever finish in a UFC title fight.
McGregor would go on to star in a pair of epic wars with Nate Diaz and after Diaz shocked McGregor on short notice at welterweight, the “champ-champ” came back with a gritty five-round decision win in what is widely considered to be one of the best fights in the history of the sport.
Conor McGregor’s Former Adversaries Fighting at UFC 245
Conor McGregor is linked to UFC 245 in more ways than one. Outside of the fact that the winner of the welterweight title fight could play a factor in his upcoming fights, a number of Conor McGregor’s former notable adversaries are fighting on the card.
Jose Aldo, the man who McGregor dethroned in 13 seconds flat is making his debut after stepping down to bantamweight. Following his loss to McGregor, Aldo reclaimed the interim belt in a fight against Frankie Edgar before dropping a pair of title fights to current champion Max Holloway. After Alexander Volkonovski finished Aldo with a vicious knockout, arguably the best featherweight of all time decided to try his hand at a different weight class.
Speaking of Holloway, the first UFC fighter to take McGregor to a decision is fighting at 245 as well. Defending his featherweight belt against Alexander Volkonovski, Holloway has thoroughly dominated the division since McGregor vacated his belt in 2016.
UFC 245 airs December 14 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+. You can order it here.
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