UFC: McGregor Has His Eye On Ferguson And Iaquinta
Conor McGregor plans to wipe out the UFC’s lightweight division, and he is looking forward to kicking things off in a spectacular fashion against Dustin Poirier in the main event at UFC 257.
It will be only the third time McGregor has competed at lightweight. In his previous two outings at 155lbs, he finished Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 to win the title, before being submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Having previously run through the featherweight division, ‘The Notorious’ plans on doing the same at lightweight.
“I Want Them All”
Speaking on John McCarthy and Josh Thomson’s ‘Weighing In’ podcast (as transcribed by The Body Lock MMA), McGregor revealed that he plans to go through every single top contender in the lightweight division.
“Every single one of them, John. I’ll go through every single one of them back-to-back,” McGregor said. “And I have no qualms with who it is. I’m happy for [Dan] Hooker and [Michael] Chandler in the co-main event. I know they’re very excited for it, I know they’re both eager to put on a show and make a statement. I’m very excited to see how that bout goes. I wish both men well. If they’re next, they’re next.
“Obviously, you’ve got [Justin] Gaethje and [Charles] Oliveira in the mix as well. They may be competing also, I’m excited about that. I want them all to be honest, John. Every single one of them. I also heard the other day Dana had an interview with The Mac Life and he was saying about Nate Diaz coming back down to 155 pounds. That would be also pretty amazing for us to keep the trilogy at lightweight possibly for a title.”
Tony and Khabib
The Irishman would also welcome a fight with Tony Ferguson, who is on a two fight losing run, with defeats against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 256.
“There are many exciting things. I don’t overlook guys that maybe had a little bit of slip in the division also because it happens in this game,” McGregor shared. “I look at the likes of Tony Ferguson, I still think he’s a solid fighter. There’s a lot of things that have gone on between myself and Tony regarding the management situation over the years. I would be open to a Tony Ferguson bout also. And if the other guy (Khabib Nurmagomedov) has the balls to come back and step in, if he stops running away, we are here for that also.”
Al Iaquinta
Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani (as transcribed by LowKick MMA), McGregor said that he would also like to settle a score with the number ten ranked Al Iaquinta, who has been a vocal critic of him in the past.
“I’d like to fight Al Iaquinta at some stage,” McGregor stated. “I’d like to fight Al. I don’t know I’d just like to fight him. I’d like to fight Al. He’s said a few things. I actually like Al. I think he’s a funny guy. He’s a real estate agent and all. I think that’s even funny in itself. He has his little team [Ray] Longo and those guys. I’d like to fight Al.
“I’d like to fight them all to be honest. I don’t care. This is the thing with me and all these other guys. Wins and losses and all this, it means nothing to me. If you’re scheduled to fight a man and you’ve gone through build-up and there’s history and all of this. A fight is a fight and fights must take place.”
Respect For Poirier
The first time McGregor faced Poirier at UFC 178, he was relentless with his trash talking ahead of the fight. Things are different this time around however, as the former two division UFC champion has nothing but respect for the Louisiana native.
“As far as this one being a lot more respectful,” said McGregor. “We’re more mature myself and Dustin. We’re both fathers and we have come through a lot. We are both engaged and make many philanthropic efforts. He is doing a great thing with The Good Fight Foundation. How could I not respect Dustin? One for that and two for how he handled the last loss. How he came back and rose up to become a champion. That’s admirable in my book and I’m very excited to get in and compete with him.”
How do you rate Conor McGregor’s chances at lightweight against the likes of Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson, Al Iaquinta, and others?
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