Conor McGregor Next Fight Remains Unofficial, UFC Top Brass Says

Mixed martial arts fans who are eager to see a Conor McGregor vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone clash may have to wait a bit longer. It seems that the said showdown is nowhere close of being made official, according to UFC president Dana White.

“Not true. Not even close,” White told TMZ Sports. “… It’s not even close to being done.”

This shuns an earlier claim by Joe Rogan on his podcast, claiming that a McGregor vs. Cerrone is a done deal (as far as he knows). It is possible that Rogan was responding based on instinct although it was clearly his opinion.

Also, there are some precedents to consider. Since that forgettable UFC 229 melee after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s win over McGregor, a rematch is expected to take place in 2019. But before that happen, both UFC fighters will be taking in different opponents – sort of a warmup fight before the big rematch.

According to White, Nurmagomedov could be facing Tony Ferguson next. As for McGregor, he has been linked to Cerrone moments after the latter’s win over Alexander Hernandez at UFC Fight Night 143, Forbes reported. The Notorious made it known that he would be interested in facing Cowboy on social media, something Cerrone would eventually accept.

Although it has yet to be made official, all signs point to a McGregor vs. Cerrone clash eventually happening. White said that the 35-year-old is the frontrunner to face the Irishman in the summer so it may only be a matter of time before the clash is made official, MMA Junkie reported. McGregor continues to serve out his six-month suspension for the UFC 229 brawl, something that will lapse this coming April.

Barring any changes along the way, Cerrone has already made a prediction on the potential fight against McGregor. He believes that it will be all over in two rounds and via knockout.

"Cowboy’s’ fought anybody we’ve ever put against him. We throw this young killer Hernandez at him, ‘Cowboy’s’ the underdog and he goes in and does it the way he did it, then Conor’s fought everybody,” said White.

That fight could be a fitting prelude to a Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor II. But how will the landscape look if The Notorious loses? The same question is in the air of Nurmagomedov also loses to his next opponent which is said to be Fergusson?