Dana White Wants to Book Khabib vs McGregor 2 in 2019, But Does This Fight Make Sense?

One of the biggest stories of 2018 was UFC 229. The UFC’s biggest star Conor McGregor took on the UFC’s most dominant lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov.

It was easily the most highly anticipated fight of the year, and the build up to the fight was almost like something out of a movie.

When fight night came, Khabib dominated McGregor finishing him via submission in round 4.

A rematch between these two didn’t even make sense, after how dominant Khabib was. That was until Khabib jumped over the octagon and started a brawl with some of McGregor’s corner-men.

Even after the brawl, most fans believed the next fight for Khabib was Tony Ferguson. That was until today when Dana White said to TMZ reporters that he would like to see Khabib vs McGregor 2 in 2019.

It still isn’t clear if Khabib will even be eligible to fight in 2019. And even if Khabib is eligible to fight he might not be interested in a rematch vs McGregor.

If you’re a casual MMA fan you probably think McGregor deserves an automatic rematch but a rematch makes absolutely no sense. The lightweight division is by far one of the most talent-stacked divisions in the UFC.

Guys like Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson, and now even Al Iaquinta have been patiently waiting for their shot. Fans have been waiting to see Khabib vs Ferguson and that is the only fight that makes sense at the moment.

If you ask me Iaquinta has a better argument than McGregor for a rematch against Khabib. Iaquinta stepped up to the plate on a day’s notice to take on Khabib at UFC 223.

It was a dominant performance by Khabib but Iaquinta showed his heart and fought until the closing horn. Iaquinta just beat another top-ranked lightweight, Kevin Lee, in a 5 round war. Lee’s style is a lot similar to Khabib’s and Al looked phenomenal in the fight.

If the UFC wants to make money they’ll go with McGregor, but if they want to book a fight that actually makes sense at the moment they’ll go with Tony or Al. If I’m Dana White, build-up the fight that makes the most sense right now for McGregor. And that’s McGregor vs Diaz 3.

-Stephen Caloggero (@stevie_calo)