“I think Islam’s next opponent should be Conor McGregor,” the American said in a regular edition of his analysis program on ESPN. “It’s as simple as two times two here. It’s the biggest money fight the UFC could ever organize.”
“We have Islam Makhachev looking like a guy who’s going to be a dominant champion, but for that dominant champion to get to the next level of stardom, he needs the right opponent. A guy who can take him to that level. The opponent who can take Islam to the next level is Conor McGregor.”
“Look at what a win over Conor McGregor did for Dustin Puryear. Look what it did to Khabib Nurmagomedov. And we’re not even mentioning the other aspects right now that say it makes sense. Islam fights Conor after all the problems Conor had with Khabib and their team. Islam is fighting Conor, the greatest mixed martial arts star returning to the UFC. It all makes sense.”
Islam Makhachev made the second successful defense of his title last weekend at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, knocking out Alexander Volkanovski as early as the first round, while Conor McGregor is scheduled to fight Michael Chandler next year.