Following his monumental win over Nate Diaz this past weekend at UFC 202, Conor McGregor’s next move has been the talk of the MMA world. Who will he fight? What weight class? He has plenty of options at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight. Yet SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh insists lightweight is his preferred option.
“Me, personally, I will be pushing for 155,” Kavanagh stated. “That’s just my big brother type of opinion. He looks like a tank to me. I just think that he was designed to be a lightweight.”
During the UFC 202 post fight press conference, McGregor was fairly adamant that a move back to featherweight and unifying the belts with José Aldo wasn’t of interest to him. And Kavanagh agrees.
“I really don’t see the point in it (going back to 145),” Kavanagh told the MMA Hour show. “With all due respect to the ’45 guys, especially after that fight with Nate, what are they going to do? What’s anyone going to do to him?
“I just think anyone he faces at that weight class, it’s almost like he’s cheating with the amount of power he has. He can make the weight; with Lockhart on board, the ’45 he made last December was the easiest he’s done. He’s just running threw people at that weight class.”
At lightweight, McGregor has two solid options, the championship fight with Eddie Alvarez and / or the rubber match with Diaz. Kavanagh says the next few moves could involve both opponents in that very order.
“It would be nice for him to be the champion, get the belt and defend the belt against Nate,” offered the SBG Ireland head coach. “I think that would be a pretty amazing fight. Maybe in Croke Park in Dublin. I will push for that. We went to their enemy territory, so let them come over to us this time.”
With the Diaz series all square at one a piece, the trilogy is perfectly poised to become one of the biggest fights in UFC history. As Kavanagh puts it, it may be the case of who get’s the last laugh?
“There’s something Batman-Jokeresque about Conor and Nate,” Kavanagh finished. “I think they’re going to do this forever.”
What’s the saying? He who laughs last, laughs longest?
