Big fights have been lined up for Conor McGregor and it would seem the UFC superstar remains in full control of his fighting career. However, the recent developments appear to indicate The Notorious is no longer the authority that he used to be. His words have been largely ignored lately.
A case in point is McGregor's upcoming UFC rematch with Dustin Poirier. Originally, the Irishman wanted the fight to take place in November and December this year but Dana White informed the MMA superstar the former UFC champ that he cannot be accommodated this 2020.
White can only offer a January 23 match date for the Conor vs. Poirier, and the UFC chief made clear that the proposal is fixed. Either McGregor will take it up or it will be scuttled. As it turned out, it was the MMA fighter who blinked and White had his way.
McGregor tried to take control of the fight by suggesting the Dallas Cowboy's AT&T Stadium as a likely venue. But White dismissed the insinuation. The battle with Poirier will happen in Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi.
Insider said McGregor's eroding influence in the MMA world was further highlighted by his desire to slug it out the second time with Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Russian loved the idea but he laid down the terms that The Notorious needs to follow. First, McGregor must win against Poirier and the two will need to fight as lightweight.
The Irishman having another go on Khabib is deemed a lucrative event so it's expected that McGregor will make the adjustments to make the fight happen. His camp already indicated that the McGregor vs. Poirier is a welterweight battle but a slide down before January could be in the offing.
After all, the undefeated Russian champion has the stronger pull now. And he was unabashed in saying McGregor's camp will have to follow his demands or they can forget about the rematch.
"If you want to take the easy way, you never deserve the next title shot," the Russian superstar was reported as saying.
In the meantime, McGregor seemed relentless in his efforts to convince the world he is still the powerful Irishman. His recent social media post claimed the UFC 229 win by Khabib was not clear domination.
McGregor insisted that his fourth-round submission did not tell the whole story. And per Essentially Sports, he claimed he was winning the first three rounds but the result turned out unfavorable.
The fight statistics, however, showed Khabib overwhelmed his opponent with the volume of strikes he unleashed, and clearly, McGregor was stunned. But as a consolation, the data also indicated that the Irishman landed the punches that mattered, suggesting he was the winner in the area of accuracy.
