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When word first got out the Conor McGregor would be making the jump to 155 after demolishing Jose Aldo, most fans wanted Nate Diaz to be his opponent. Now, thanks to Rafael dos Anjos breaking his foot in training, we will get what we wanted … at 170, no less.
The case for Diaz was simple: There was no better option out there for McGregor. Jose Aldo flatly turned down the fight. Frankie Edgar could have worked at 155, but he is injured. Urijah Faber is a big name at the featherweight and bantamweight, but his skills are undeniably diminished, and his last decision against Frankie Saenz was unimpressive.
Most folks don’t even think he deserves a shot against Dominick Cruz, let alone make the jump up to 155 for a bout vs. McGregor.
Anthony Pettis? He’s coming off two straight losses, the last one a suffocating defeat against Eddie Alvarez that showed major holes in the former champ’s game. He needs a couple of rebound fights before he makes the case for a main-event payday. Alvarez himself might have worked, but both of his last two victories were split decisions, and neither were breakout performances.
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Then there’s Donald Cerrone, who is admittedly a good choice both in name recognition and performance … but not the best one. The UFC could have had an exciting fight on hand had they gone with him, though the simple fact is that his availability is not ideal timeline-wise; he would be fighting twice in two weeks, and the last time he did that in January of 2015 against Benson Henderson, he notched in an uninspired decision victory that many thought should have gone in favor Bendo.
Cowboy looked good against Alex Oliveira, who was taking the fight himself on two weeks notice, but to ask him to do the same against a killer like McGregor, who has gone through a full camp, would not result in the best Cerrone we’ve seen being too ambitious for his own good.
If Cowboy loses that fight, the consensus would be that he was taking on too much too soon, and McGregor would have even less to gain in his welterweight debut than if he fought a non-contender at that class.
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Which, of course, leaves us with Diaz, who is coming off a Fight of the Night performance against Michael Johnson, who has the trash-talking to match McGregor’s, and who might be the only UFC fighter outside of his brother Nick Diaz who would openly mock the featherweight champ during the fight.
Yes, Diaz is also going to be relatively unprepared, and he’s undoubtedly an underdog in this fight; however, he wouldn’t have to make a significant weight cut, he wouldn’t be fighting twice in two weeks, and fans have seen what a motivated Nate Diaz can bring to the Octagon — just ask Johnson. Or Cerrone, for that matter.
Most of all, it’s the most entertaining fight to make for the fans, and the UFC is ultimately in the entertainment business. Sometimes that kind of fight promotion can go horribly wrong (I’m looking at you, Bellator), but this is no longer about giving McGregor the toughest possible matchup — that was RDA, and he dropped out.
Whether the fight turns out to be a barn-burner or not, this one is about the fans. In this case, the people’s choice is absolutely the right choice for Joe Silva and co.
