Conor McGregor thinks there is a chance that he could be in the welterweight title picture.
The UFC welterweight title will be on the line at UFC 286 in London. Champion Leon Edwards will be defending his belt for the first time as he takes on Kamaru Usman in a trilogy bout. This fight is an immediate rematch of the bout that took place at UFC 278. In that fight, Usman was winning on the scorecards before Edwards landed a huge, fight-ending head kick. All of the top fighters in the welterweight division will be looking on as these two top fighters step into the O2 Arena, but there might be another man looking on, hoping for the next shot at the winner.
Conor McGregor thinks he might have dibs on the next shot at welterweight gold. McGregor has fought at lightweight for the last few years, with a few outliers at 170 mixed in. Now that he is plotting his return to the UFC, welterweight is his desired weight class. He feels that if he defeats Michael Chandler in his next bout he could jump the line at 170 pounds.
Conor McGregor will be watching on as Leon Edwards defends his title against Kamaru Usman
McGregor has taken some time away from competition over the last two years. In that time he has been healing from an injury and bulking up a bit. He has now signed on to face Chandler after they coach on The Ultimate Fighter. Chandler is ranked in the lightweight division, but this fight will be contested at welterweight. McGregor confirmed this fact while speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
“170, I’m 170 next time, leave it at that,” he said.
When asked if he believes that a win over Chandler at that weight will put him in line for a title shot next he seemed optimistic about it.
“I think so, I would like that,” he said. “I might be present for the card. Well Gunnie (Gunnar Nelson) is on the card so we get to see him live and we get to watch that welterweight title for sure.”
McGregor explained that he has business to attend to in London this weekend and plans to be cage-side for the UFC 286 event. He was in Las Vegas last weekend for UFC 285 and told Helwani that being at the fights brought him motivation for his return. His timetable for his return bout is still up in the air but if he fights Chandler in September or after he would still like another fight this year.
