Everyone wants to fight Conor McGregor

Nate Diaz has never been one to hide his true feelings. Not these clowns you’ve already punked at the press conference.

“McGregor said he wants to come to my division, and I think it wouldn’t be a smart decision”. If that’s the fight they want and that gets me closer to a title shot, why not?

UFC featherweight title contender Max Holloway has hinted he is ready to take on Jose Aldo or Frankie Edgar in his next bout, with a fight against Conor McGregor looking unlikely.

The UFC’s 17th network-televised event saw champion Rafael dos Anjos (25-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) retain his lightweight belt when he defeated Donald Cerrone (28-7 MMA, 15-4 UFC) for a second time.

Why they should fight: Overeem bet big on himself and won when he opted to fight out the last bout on his current UFC contract.

McGregor and the UFC are expected to announce his next fight early in the New Year.

And, judging by the television ratings Diaz has garnered in the past, in combination with the pay-per-view numbers the Irishman has pulled, this matchup would attract scores of viewers.

While doing interviews on Thursday in advance of his Saturday night fight against Michael Johnson, Nate Diaz looked at the event poster and spotted what he perceived to be an error.

“This is ninja real sh-t. I’m here to stay”, said Brazilian Dos Anjos.

“This is ninja sh-t”.

Did you expect him to stay quiet?

“If you’re scared get a dog bro, if not let’s make this happen”.

McGregor can find stiffer challenges inside the cage, but from a promotional standpoint, a hype campaign with Diaz would be an intoxicating matchup.

However it is only very recently that the likes of the BBC have started to warm up to mixed martial arts.

Indeed, McGregor may be something of a modern-day ninja.

So if that were the case, what kind of rematch does he want? He’s hellbent on becoming the first UFC fighter to hold two titles at the same time. “I don’t really care how I win”.

So long as McGregor continues to be one of the UFC’s top sellers at the ticket booth, he has power – and with this clout comes bigger fight purses and more creative control.

“Playing hard and ninja his ass up”.

“That’s the key to beating everybody”, he concluded.

Following the dominant victory, dos Anjos took the opportunity to call out McGregor – challenging him to try his luck in the shark-infested lightweight waters.

“I don’t give a fu-k”. I couldn’t move. I usually move out there, but if you go watch that fight, I hardly move. “He says it and they push him”.

Though one might assume that he would now be more focused on the sport of MMA rather than the self-defence elements, McGregor obviously still maintains an interest in the “real world” applications of what he learns.

As a nation, I think we’re past that stage now.