Dana White: 'Conor McGregor next in line for title shot'
Rising UFC featherweight star Conor McGregor shot into many MMA featherweight rankings top-five lists this week after knocking Dustin Poirier out with an accidentally illegal shot to the back of the head, but UFC president Dana White believes that the rising star has done enough to be granted a world title shot. Champion Jose Aldo next defends the belt in a rematch against Chad Mendes later this month at UFC 179.
After that, White told UFC.com that the charismatic and hard-hitting Irishman is next in line for a shot at the winner. “Here’s the thing," White began.
"If you go down the list, every one of those guys has fought Jose Aldo already...Conor hasn’t. So who do you line up next for the champ other than Conor? Everybody else has fought him.”
McGregor has said he plans to watch Aldo and Mendes go at it at UFC 179 in Brazil. Having the sharp-dressing and loud-talking contender there during fight week will likely hype up a potential fight between he and Aldo or Mendes.
In speaking of wanting a match up that would be considered fresh and exciting to fans, White is likely on-point that a fight between McGregor and Aldo would garner the most interest. Not only is McGregor 4-0 inside the UFC cage, but he also hasn't lost a fight in nearly four years.
Perhaps just as important as his impressive fighting, however, has been McGregor's outlandish trash talk and impressive presence as a personaliity. The 26 year-old seems to be gaining a great deal of stardom in his native Ireland, and is also quickly becoming a favorite among U.S. fans.
All the while, he's winning fights and trashing the long-time featherweight king Aldo in interviews and on Twitter. White's calculation, however, would seem to lean heavily on Aldo beating Mendes later this month.
That is no lock. Aldo did earn a KO win in the first round against Mendes in 2012, but that fight was competitive up until the last-second knee that caught and felled Mendes, and it also wasn't without its own controversy.
Mendes was having some success tying up and taking down Aldo throughout the first round before the champ held on to the cage in a violation of the rules and in order to stop Mendes from taking him down. After stopping the take down, with the assistance of the fence-grab, Aldo spun around and landed the knee that knocked Mendes out.
Since that loss, Mendes has won five straight fights and looked dominating. All that is to say, UFC 179's main event between Aldo and Mendes could go either way.
Would the UFC be just as eager to place McGregor ahead of the pack in the featherweight contender's list if Mendes becomes champion? Time may tell.
Until then, let us know who you think deserves the next featherweight title shot, after Mendes!
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