John Kavanagh thinks that Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier should be for UFC lightweight title at UFC 257. While many fans of the sport believe that the winner of the bout will face Justin Gaethje, Kavanagh doesn’t see why the main event winner shouldn’t be awarded UFC gold.
Tale of the Tape
Both McGregor and Poirier will enter the octagon in peak form with their last performances inside of the cage exhibiting dominant wins. Conor only took 40 seconds to dismantle and knock out Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. On the other hand, Poirier ground out a tough, yet dominant win over Dan Hooker at UFC Vegas 4.
Kavanagh on McGregor vs Poirier Being for a Title
With Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring and vacating the title, the lightweight division currently is without a champion. However, the official rankings still show Khabib as champion, which raises questions of the UFC plotting a power play. Regardless, Kavanagh spoke with The Mac Life on his thoughts about the matchup.
“If he (McGregor)so chooses (to change divisions ). Yes. I don’t know what the exact plan is, but I don’t really get why this one (Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier) isn’t for the title; if I’m being a hundred percent honest,” said coach John.
“Maybe it’s Dana (White). This is a little carrot towards Khabib (Nurmagomedov), you know, ‘do you really want this guy to’…I don’t know. I don’t know those types of games. I don’t involve myself in it. But this, to me, feels like it’s for the (UFC lightweight) belt. But I guess at the very least, the winner of this will be offered a title fight. But who would that be against? It’s a bit of a strange scene we have in front of us, which makes it interesting.”
Title Implications
The magnitude of the matchup feels like a UFC championship fight. However, it’s unclear if Khabib is still in the picture, or if he will continue to stay retired. Currently, the UFC has yet to strip Nurmagomedov of his championship. But, if the UFC decides to strip Khabib of his table before UFC 257, it’ll be interesting to see if the organization upgrades the main event to a title fight.
