Conor McGregor became the first two weight world champion in UFC history two weeks ago after defeating then lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez with little to no real difficulty, but the question now is; who’s next?
The chance to hold three belts at the same time could be too tempting for McGregor leaving the possibility for a title shot against Tyron Woodley, the current welterweight champion, open for consideration.
Tyron Woodley fought on the main card before McGregor defeated Alvarez. Woodley drew with opponent Stephen Thompson after a fight of the night performance retaining his title as the UFC welterweight champion.
The 34-year-old has fought some big names to get to the top including Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler, who he fought in July to become the current champion.
A rematch with Wonderboy would be an option for Woodley and the UFC after the fight was so close, but if the opportunity to fight McGregor arose, “The Chosen One” would have the chance to beat the current poster boy and biggest star to rise out of the UFC and make a lot of money while doing it. McGregor’s striking coach, Owen Roddy, has expressed his interest in challenging for a third belt while other punters have backed the potential fight.
The pair also had a number of altercations during the 205 weekend both in person and on Twitter. After the weigh ins McGregor and the chosen one shared a tense moment when they came face to face backstage.
Then they took to Twitter to exchange insults with The Notorious One calling the Welterweight champ a “Twitter bitch”.
In terms of the actual bout both fighters match up when it comes to their height and reach so McGregor wouldn’t look out of place inside the octagon with Woodley although the added weight has been a problem for McGregor in the past with him looking very slow and unfit during his first fight with Nate Diaz. He did however beat the Stockton native at 170 pounds in their rematch at UFC 202.
It has also been reported that Woodley is often around the 200 pound mark when he steps into the octagon, which is closer to the light heavyweight division. A huge step up for a man who is used to fighting between 145 and 155.
As McGregor will now take some time off for the birth of his child he is left with enough time to prepare for a rise in weight classes. “The Notorious” would be in perfect shape for the division and would be facing an opponent similar to Alvarez leaving it tough for him to pass up.
Andrew Byrne