Comments made by Dana White in a recent interview with Brett Okamoto has the MMA community in quite a stir. Dana stated that if Conor McGregor beats Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, he’ll get a title shot.
But I don’t really believe him.
We need to understand that Dana said it alongside comments about the fact that arguable number one contender Justin Gaethje is turning down fights. White has historically hated when fighters turn a bout down. Years ago Din Thomas was offered a title shot, when he said he thought he wasn’t ready just yet, he was cut from the organization altogether.
These days, things aren’t as cutthroat. Fighters have more options around the world. Still, Dana has made it clear he has too many things to do and far too many fighters to worry about. White doesn’t like having to ask professional martial artists whether they want to compete or not.
Instead, when a fighter is ready for a match, he or she should come to the UFC. Much like how after three years of inactivity, Nate Diaz showed up with a signed bout agreement against Anthony Pettis and the UFC quickly agreed. The two fighters wanted it. The contest made sense. All the work was already done. Dana White was quickly on board.
So if there’s a fight that fans want and the competitors are interested, the UFC tends to make it happen.
Tony Ferguson is set to face lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in April. Usually, a fighter will take several months off before competing again. Especially if they hold the belt. So the winner of that title bout most likely wouldn’t fight again until September or later. That means Justin wants to wait around a full year before he competes again. Probably longer. That’s not likely a strategy to get him the championship. This could be Dana’s way of not so subtly telling him that.
So in that regard, I agree with Dana. Justin should keep competing and racking up wins if he really wants the title. He’s on a three-fight win streak –all first-round knockouts; coming well-earned against James Vick, Edson Barbosa, and Cerrone, which was just back in September.
This could imply that Conor isn’t actually getting the title fight at all and that Dana White is just trying to force Gaethje into accepting an earlier match.
Perhaps a rematch with Dustin Poirier would work. Dustin just competed for the title and doesn’t have a new opponent. Even Gaethje versus the winner of the upcoming Paul Felder versus Dan Hooker headlining main event would make a lot of sense as a title eliminator.
Three things usually warrant a title fight in the UFC. A long winning streak, the challenger and champ having never faced each other, and the fans are clamoring for it.
That’s why Ferguson deserves the shot. A 12-fight win streak. He and Khabib have never squared off. The fans have been desperate to see it for years.
By that same logic, Conor getting a title shot doesn’t make sense. If he wins, he’ll have one victory in four years. He’s already lost to Khabib in a one-sided mauling and the fans are certainly not that interested.
However, if McGregor wins and Tony Ferguson wins the title, now it does make more sense. Tony has asked for Conor hoping for a huge payday. So Conor fighting for the title after beating Cerrone isn’t totally out of the question. Just unlikely.
Sure, Dana White could be trying to strong-arm Justin Gathje –who should take another fight– or he might be lying to fire up Conor and the fans. Promising a chance at gold all but guarantees his best efforts. Perhaps it’s just a ploy to sell the McGregor vs Cerrone event by making it seem more meaningful, with title implications for the lightweight division.
We all know Dana says outrageous things to elicit a reaction from fans and media alike. So he knows what he’s doing. And we know what he’s doing. But hey, since we’re all in on it, that’s okay. Sure, it does help make the sport more fun.
Yet, we’re left with the same question. Will a win over Donald Cerrone actually get Conor Mcgregor a title shot? We all know a win over McGregor certainly won’t earn Donald a title fight any time soon. I know the UFC sees a potential rematch with Khabib as a huge moneymaker, but you can never believe what Dana White says. I feel that no, one victory won’t earn Conor a title match.
Toy Ferguson beat Cerrone at 155, now he’s finally getting that elusive bout for the belt. Justin Gaethje just beat Cerrone at lightweight, in the first round, so he feels he deserves the next shot at championship gold. No matter how great McGregor looks, even if he starches Cerrone in the first round, even if he has the same one-punch knockout power at 170, beating an older, past his prime Cerrone won’t have that same impact. And fans will not be asking to see Conor get a title fight. In fact, most are already against it.
So, more than likely, even if Conor looks amazing, unless Tony Ferguson wins and calls him out, chances are he stays at 170 and takes on either Jorge Masvidal or the trilogy with Nate Diaz to finally put an end to their rivalry. Both bouts are well-deserved money makers, against big-name opponents that won’t piss off the fans.
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