How is this even an option?
The possibility of a Lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Conor McGregor has been discussed a lot lately. In fact Dana White is on board with the possibility, and Charles Oliveira has said that he would wait for Conor's return from injury to make it happen. It isn't difficult to understand why this is the case. Any fight with Conor McGregor gets a lot of attention which means a big pay day for the UFC. An opportunity for Conor to come back from injury and potentially win the belt would get the McGregor faithful in a total frenzy. For Oliveira it would mean he can kick back and enjoy being the Lightweight Champion knowing the earliest Conor could return is around July. Then as a bonus his next Title defense would be against an opponent who doesn't really deserve to be in the octagon with him. I can hear some of you gasping right now.
Before some of you start listing off Conor McGregor's accomplishments, it's important to understand the fighter he is now. Charles Oliveira won't be fighting against the Conor McGregor that pieced up Eddie Alvarez. He will be fighting against the Conor McGregor that has been finished in 3 of his last 4 fights. The Conor McGregor that's rehabbing a broken ankle. The Conor McGregor who's only win since 2016 is against Donald Cerrone. In fact the UFC is obviously well aware of his diminished skills because they have him at 9th in the Lightweight rankings. Think on that for a moment. How often does the UFC offer a title shot to a fighter ranked 9th? If you remove Charles Oliveira's most recent opponents as options that still leaves
Gaethje the #1 ranked Lightweight has the biggest argument for deserving the title shot. Dariush #3 and Makhachev #4 are scheduled to fight each other so the winner of that match should get a shot at Oliveira. After that Dos Anjos, Hooker, and McGregor are all coming off multiple losses. If I am Oliveira I'd gladly take the Conor McGregor pay day title defense over more difficult opponents like Gaethje, Dariush, or Makhachev. Also by giving Conor McGregor an immediate title shot upon his return you essentially punish a fighter like Beneil Dariush on a 7 fight win streak or Islam Makhachev on a 9 fight win streak.
The only path that makes sense for Conor McGregor's return is for him to fight one of the fighters above him coming off a loss also. Michael Chandler at #5 makes the most sense to me. A win over Chandler who is coming off losses to Gaethje and Oliveira would at least put McGregor in the conversation of being a worthy opponent for Oliveira. One more fight against a top 3 opponent would be the next logical step but because McGregor could very well be coming to the end of his career, I would understand if a win over Chandler was enough.
The problem with MMA today!
Which brings us back to why a fight between Charles Oliveira and Conor McGregor is even being considered at this time. The answer is simple - Money!
MMA is no longer about which fighters are the most deserving of a title shot or the organizations promotion. It is about which fighter can successfully promote themselves. In other words Fighters need to learn how to do the Promoters job for them. In turn the Promotion rewards them with favourable matchups, quick paths to title shots, and a bucket load of cash. Charles Oliveira took the difficult path to the Lightweight belt. Ironically he won it against an opponent that didn't deserve to be there because his actual opponent chose to fight Conor McGregor for the money instead. Charles Oliveira is a very deserving Champion though. He is on a 10 fight win streak, has the UFC record for Submission wins, and finished Poirier quite easily in his first title defense. As I mentioned earlier Conor McGregor is a relatively easy opponent for him when you look at the options. The real reason he wants to fight Conor McGregor though is despite his accomplishments he still hasn't made serious money as an MMA fighter. The only way to guarantee the UFC pays him appropriately is to accept a fight against the 9th ranked opponent. Who really benefits from this kind of matchmaking? Well Conor McGregor does for sure. Whoever has the belt benefits because they can choose to just fight Conor, and whether they win or lose make a lot of money. Conor McGregor fans benefit because they get to hope he steals the title with a well timed kick, or straight left. The UFC laughs their way to the bank because people keep tuning in to this fiasco. Everyone else loses! The fighters who have dedicated their lives to becoming the best keep getting passed over. The real fans that want to see the best matches, and true tests of ability get ignored. The history of the sport suffers because those that did it right find themselves compared with current fighters who ascended the ranks through social media instead of inside the cage.
What's your opinion? Leave a comment and let me know.
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