MMA Rumors: Conor McGregor Fighting Nate Diaz Next, Says Michael Bisping
Despite coming from a lengthy hiatus, former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor still managed to prove that he’s one of the best fighters the world of mixed martial arts has to offer. In the recently concluded UFC 246 main event, held at T-Mobile Arena, “The Notorious” only needed 40 seconds to defeat Donald Cerrone via a TKO. Even though it hasn’t even been a week since McGregor dismantled Cerrone, people have already started talking about his next fight.
In a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, via Youtube, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping gave his own prediction for who should be McGregor’s next opponent in the Octagon. For Bisping, UFC welterweight fighter Nate Diaz is next in line.
“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen, I guarantee he fights Nate Diaz next,” Bisping said, as transcribed by BJPenn.com. “Masvidal and [Kamaru] Usman are probably going to fight each other. Khabib’s going to fight Tony in April, then it’s Ramadan. If he beats Tony, he’s not going to fight anytime soon. And Conor already teased Diaz, and that’s good business for everybody involved. Fans want to see it, everyone makes money, so that’s what’s going to happen. That’s my prediction.”
Most mixed martial arts fans would definitely love to see McGregor face Diaz in the Octagon. The duo created one of the most interesting rivalries in the UFC that started at UFC 196 when Nate pulled a huge upset over “The Notorious,” despite only serving as a short-notice replacement. McGregor managed to even the score, beating Diaz via unanimous decision at UFC 202. Since then, most people are patiently waiting for the third fight between the two to happen.
After showing everyone that his MMA career is far from over, McGregor would undeniably be intrigued by the idea of fighting Diaz again. Aside from being given the opportunity to prove that he’s the better fighter, a trilogy bout against Diaz will assure McGregor gets a huge payday.
Training footage from 2013 shows @TheNotoriousMMA utilizing shoulder strikes, like he did against Cowboy at #UFC246 ? (via @Pendred) pic.twitter.com/8fc8PE7ay8
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 22, 2020
Unfortunately, for MMA fans who want to see the McGregor-Diaz trilogy bout soon, it seems like UFC President Dana White has a different idea in mind for “The Notorious.” In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, which is currently posted on Youtube, White said that after successfully beating Cerrone, a rematch with undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is the next fight that makes sense for McGregor. White believes that facing Nurmagomedov again will not only be good for McGregor’s purse, but it will also determine his legacy as an MMA fighter.
