To be the best, Conor McGregor has to beat the best.
Conor McGregor can rightfully claim to be the best featherweight fighter ever. When he was matched up against the seemingly unbeatable Jose Aldo, he brutally knocked him out in less time than it took Bruce Buffer to introduce him.
Dismantling legendary fighter Eddie Alvarez means there is no debate about where he stands among the lightweights. Although, streaking contenders such as Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee, Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov are eagerly awaiting their chance to prove that they’re the real number one.
However, it’s a little bit tougher for McGregor to make a case for him being the greatest fighter to ever grace an Octagon. He just hasn’t had the longevity at the top of the game as the warriors who are already in that conversation, but he could jump ahead of the queue by beating one of the all-time greats.
Fortunately, there’s a returning great scheduled for a title fight in November who seems keen on taking on the biggest draw in the sport.
This would be a real legacy-cementer https://t.co/e8a0Wu2UYQ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) September 14, 2017
Although Nate Diaz appears to be the front-runner to receive the next red panty night, Georges St-Pierre has a legitimate chance of beating the Stockton native to the punch. GSP is set to come out of retirement to fight Michael Bisping for the middleweight crown at UFC 217, and plenty of people are expecting the Canadian to call out McGregor if he manages to take the belt off ‘the Count’.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier, a training partner of GSP at Montreal’s Tristar gym, told TSN that he feels St-Pierre may push for a fight against McGregor after his return to the Octagon.
“I think what will be probable is that he will call out Conor after. That’s what I would do. I think for the UFC, it’s a really smart fight to do. It’s a win-win for them. Well, win-win, kind of, for short term. If Georges wins then he’s the biggest MMA fighter of all time. If Conor wins, he is too. If GSP wins, I don’t think he’s going to hold this against Conor.”
Considering what both parties have to gain from the match-up, it’s difficult to see this fight not happening should St-Pierre impress in his 185 lb debut. These type of opportunities only come around once in a lifetime.
