UFC President Dana White recently stated that two divisions will soon return to what many deem as normalcy, perhaps eliminating what others believe is the corporate desire to put on “money fights”.
White said that once UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor II is in the history books, featherweight champion Conor McGregor will return to 145 lbs and defend his title. The funds from the money fight will be made and “The Notorious” will likely have a rematch with interim champ Jose Aldo Jr., to unify the two title.
While McGregor vs. Aldo II may not be considered a money fight per se, it will be a large cash injection for the company. There will be plenty of interest in the scrap and more than a few storylines to promote.
Does this squash any chance that the Irishman could tangle with lightweight kingpin Eddie Alvarez? I say “no” … but also, not anytime soon. There will be plenty of work for McGregor to do, and by the time he can have any sniff of the 155 lbs strap, no one can predict who the divisional champ will be.
One way or another, one day, I wouldn’t be surprised if Conor gets a crack at that title. Considering the misery he appears to go through cutting down to 145 lbs, he could eliminate a large portion of that stress by competing in the lightweight division.
The other divisional champ Dana mentioned was welterweight boss Tyron Woodley. White stated the chosen challenger to face “The Chosen One” will be Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. To wit, Woodley has attempted to halt any momentum for Thompson, when he tweeted that he hasn’t been offered anyone or anything yet.
Unfortunately, I cannot see Tyron winning this battle outside of the octagon. If he’s offered (re: told) Thompson, he will likely have minimal choice but to accept.
This takes away the two money fights he was hoping to procure: Nick Diaz and / or Georges St-Pierre.
If I was in the champs shoes, I would do all I could to garner a bout with Diaz or GSP … his window of competition is closer to ending than most people realize. He’s now the champ and is in his 30’s. A far cry from wearing gold while you are in your 20’s. The time to make money is right now, not over the next few years. He needs to maximize the revenue he can make as soon as possible … not in 2017 and beyond.
But, if that is not what the UFC has planned for him, what do they have planned for Nick and Georges?
Both guys are chomping at the bit to fight one another, so why not put this fight on?
When Georges announced he had entered the USADA drug testing pool, he also mentioned he would be more than happy to rematch the Stockton native. And there’s no point in even asking Diaz if he wants that fight. Before you could finish the question, Diaz would already be in the octagon waiting for Bruce Buffer to announce his name.
There’s also the question of “20”. And I don’t mean 4-20 … I’m referring to twenty victories in the octagon.
Georges has nineteen wins, as does middleweight champion Michael Bisping. So the race to 20 is officially on, and if GSP has his way, I’m willing to wager he would be more than happy to face “The Count”, and prevent the Brit from attaining that goal. Unfortunately for Georges, Michael may get it on October 08th, when he rematches Dan Henderson at UFC 204.
If Georges has to complete the full four month testing term “mandated” by USADA, the earliest we will see the Canadian back in the octagon is December.
No matter how we break this all down, the UFC will likely not change their business model anytime soon. Title fights for title-holders and money fights whenever they make sense. And when it comes to business, it’s money that makes sense, no matter who is fighting whom.
Of course, we can only imagine the new vault that will be required once Ronda Rousey throws her name back into the mix. #ChaChing
