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“…we’ll get Conor-Diaz 3 and then he’ll fight Khabib later in the year. That’s my prediction.”
Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal is the fantasy matchup everyone’s talking about in the aftermath of McGregor’s first-round dismantling of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 but, according to Michael Bisping, there’s a potentially bigger fight on the horizon.
Speaking to MMA Fighting in a recent interview, ‘The Count’ said McGregor will choose a lucrative trilogy bout with Nate Diaz over Jorge Masvidal and then, if all goes according to plan, avenge his submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I mean listen, [the fight with Jorge Masvidal] would do great business, but here’s my prediction,” Bisping said. “I guarantee this is what happens with Conor next. He ain’t fighting Khabib, because Khabib’s fighting Tony [Ferguson] and then he’s got Ramadan, and Conor wants to fight again soon.
“He was talking about Nate Diaz, and Nate Diaz 3 will do big business. Conor will smoke Nate Diaz, because Nate Diaz has always been an average fighter; he just built his f*cking career on choking out Conor McGregor. The second fight he got beat, and now because of all his inactivity, Conor will smoke him. So in the meantime, we’ll get Conor-Diaz 3 and then he’ll fight Khabib later in the year. That’s my prediction.”
Bisping believes Masvidal is a terrible matchup for McGregor and doesn’t think ‘The Notorious’ stands much of a chance against reigning welterweight champ, Kamaru Usman, either.
“I think [Masvidal is] a bad matchup for Conor,” Bisping said. “I think Kamaru is a bad matchup for Conor. He did great on the weekend and he beat Cerrone and he’ll beat Diaz, but they’re both 155’ers.
“Usman is a legit 170’er. He’s a big, strong dude that can take a shot, and he’s in his prime. It’s all well and good this narrative that he’s at 170. I don’t think anybody’s beating Usman any time soon, certainly not Conor.”
McGregor is expected to return to the Octagon in March/April, so expect the UFC to announce his next fight in the coming weeks.