LAS VEGAS — Conor McGregor would not commit to any definitive next step after UFC 202.
Could it be defending the UFC featherweight title? Going to lightweight? A trilogy with Nate Diaz? McGregor doesn't want to seem to take anything off the table.
"Shit's about to hit the fan, I feel," McGregor said Saturday night after beating Nate Diaz by majority decision at T-Mobile Arena. "So we'll see."
The brash Irishman did not elaborate, but it seems like he could make life very difficult for the UFC in his next negotiation. In another scrum backstage following UFC 202, McGregor planted another seed.
"There's a lot of options," he said. "Some might not be this sport."
.@TheNotoriousMMA left #UFC202 on crutches. Before he did, he hinted at a future outside of the Octagon to @anezbitthttps://t.co/Q7ERYQ37L8
— AtTheBuzzer (@TheBuzzerOnFOX) August 21, 2016
Could McGregor be alluding to a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather? Or even some kind of appearance in WWE? He has spoke about Mayweather often and in the last few weeks taken aim at pro wrestlers. It seems like he has a hand — or word — in every big-money, combat-related medium.
Many people would love to watch McGregor and Diaz fight for a third time right away. That seems less likely at this juncture, but so did Diaz vs. McGregor 2, which ended up being one of the best UFC fights of all time.
If and when McGregor vs. Diaz 3 happens, McGregor wants it at at 155 pounds, not 170, where the first two took place.
"I'm gonna go back down in weight," McGregor said. "I'm the 145-pound champion. The 155-pound is there. When I fight Nate again, it'll be at 155 pounds. It'll be on my terms this time. I came up, I didn't make any excuses or any stipulations to try and get this win back. I had it exactly the way it was previous.
"I want to get my abs back. I don't have abs at this weight. I'm trying to get abs and it's like f*ck, I can't get abs. Even though I'm eating good. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a fat belly."
As he said, McGregor is still the featherweight champion. But it seems like a rematch with Jose Aldo, the interim featherweight champion, does not intrigue him. Aldo won the interim belt with a unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 last month.
"It's hard for me to get excited about that, especially after his last performance," McGregor said. "It was a decision. He didn't go out and get it. He didn't go out and get it like I wanted him to get it. I don't know. Look, we'll see. I'm the 145-pound champion. The interim 145-pound champion is a man that I KO'd in 13 seconds."
One thing McGregor does not seem keen on is the UFC taking that 145-pound belt away if he doesn't defend it next. "The Notorious" also dropped a hint that he could go to 155 and face champion Eddie Alvarez next. In that case, the promotion might strip him of the featherweight title.
"I don't think they're gonna do that," McGregor said. "I mean, how can they do that? If they want to do that, if they want to give my belt to the guy I KO'd in 13 seconds, and bury that decision in the prelims or the Fight Pass stuff, that's what they're gonna do. I mean, we'll see. How can they do that? What would that do to the division, if the guy I KO'd in 13 seconds is the unified champion? We've got a lot to talk about, but I'm in a beautiful, beautiful position right now and that was built through hard work and I'm gonna capitalize on that."
McGregor, 28, has made a career out of capitalize on his opportunities. And after an epic win over Diaz at UFC 202, the ball is once again in his court.
"I've got to figure out what's next," McGregor said. "But right now I don't know what's next. There's many, many things in the pipeline. So, sit tight."
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