It looks like fans won't have to get down on their knees to see Lightweight king Conor McGregor back in the octagon after all.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White recently gave an ultimatum to the Irish superstar to either defend his title in March or vacate the belt. The announcement was made in light of McGregor's lengthy absence from the sport.
"The Notorious" has not fought in a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) match since November 2016, when he made history by defeating Eddie Alvarez, becoming the first ever fighter in UFC history to hold two championships in different weight classes.
In an interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, White said that it's up to McGregor to decide if want to continue fighting, but must do so quickly as he is holding up his entire division.
"If he waits - I don't think Conor wants to fight until August, but if he waits until August or September, that's around two years since the belt has been defended, and that can't happen." White said. "As long as Conor is willing to fight by March, we could do Khabib versus Tony and then the winner fights Conor for the title.
Tony "El Cucuy" Ferguson is the Interim Lightweight champion of the UFC and is considered by many to be a legitimate threat to McGregor. If the champion does intend to make a return, a fight with Ferguson is the most obvious choice to determine the undisputed Lightweight champion.
White's decision for an Interim championship between Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov is questionable since March is already fast approaching and Nurmagomedov just recently came from a match, albeit a dominant performance. A March bout would mean that the eliminator could take place late January or early February, which might give the winner insufficient time to prepare for McGregor.
If the champion decides not fight by March, however, White said that he would have no choice but to strip the Irishman of the belt and give the opportunity to both Ferguson and Nurmagomedov.
"Or, if Conor wants to sit out until next fall, then we'd have to make Khabib versus Tony for the title, not the interim title." He said.
