SO, WITH NEWS breaking today that Conor McGregor’s latest opponent, lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, has been ruled out of their title bout on 5 March with a foot injury, where do we go from here?
The UFC have a number of possible options to explore. They could reschedule the fight and make the women’s bantamweight title match-up between Holly Holm and Miesha Tate the main event at UFC 196.
However, knowing how he likes to stay active, McGregor may not be keen to sit around for too long, while it would also leave his large Irish following who have booked to attend on Saturday week bitterly disappointed.
That brings us to the prospect of finding a replacement with just 11 days’ notice. While a rematch is unlikely to happen, a meeting with Frankie Edgar has been on the cards for a long time but he is currently nursing an injury, according to MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani.
With that in mind, here are three fighters who could step in to face The Notorious.
Donald Cerrone
The Cowboy could well have been scheduled to fight McGregor had he not suffered a defeat to dos Anjos in December.
He may have only fought two nights ago, when he claimed victory over Alex Oliveira via first-round submission at welterweight, but Cerrone is known for accepting fights on short notice.
Ariel Helwani is reporting that his management are open to the idea, while team-mate Paul Felder and his gym are suggesting he’s game-ball and would be well able to make 155lbs:
Nate Diaz
When McGregor was confirmed for 5 March, he was offered both dos Anjos and Nate Diaz by the UFC.
Understandably, he chose the Brazilian in a bid to add the lightweight title to his featherweight belt.
With his sights set on McGregor, Diaz called him out after his recent win over Michael Johnson in an explicit post-fight interview and it certainly would be an intriguing match-up.
Whether Diaz could make 155lbs in less than two weeks is unknown, however.
Anthony Pettis
Former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis may be due to meet Edson Barboza at UFC 197, but his manager Malki Kawa appears to have thrown his hat into the ring.
The 29-year-old is without a win in two fights after suffering defeats to Eddie Alvarez and Rafael dos Anjos.
Pettis has been quick to criticise McGregor in the past and was quoted as saying the he would be interested in taking on the Dubliner as recently as January.
“I don’t even care, man. Give me Conor McGregor at this point,” Pettis told MMA Fighting. “I really don’t care, honestly. I want to go out and prove that I’m the best in the world with or without the belt.
“If they give me the title shot, I’ll take it. If they want to give me McGregor, I’ll take it.”
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