What's Next for Conor McGregor?

 Following his recent one-sided second round submission loss to Nate Diaz, it has become apparent to all McGregor bandwagoners that he is not invincible. So what is next on the agenda for McGregor?

It is obvious that now that he has failed in his attempt to secure a Catchweight win that he will not face Lightweight Champion Rapheal Dos Anjos, who withdrew from UFC 196 following an injury nor will he be able to move up to Welterweight and challenge the now king of the division Robbie Lawler. The only thing left for McGregor is to return to Featherweight and defend the title he should have defended before moving up another weight class.


 Yet the move up was not solely his responsibility or desire, he was allowed to do so by the UFC being that he was billed as "the Mayweather of MMA" predicting that he would bring is much more money and attention to the sport if he were involved in a superfight and became the first UFC Champion to hold multiple belts at one time. McGregor now 19-3, all his losses coming by way of submission due to his lack of a ground game, must now return to a not-so-pleasant division where awaiting him is the Featherweight #1 contender Frankie Edgar, who has a very well known submission prowess. In line behind him is Max Holloway (15-3), whom McGregor defeated at UFC Fight Night 26 via unanimous decision and since has gone on to win 8 straight wins in a very competitive and talented division.

Before the UFC again bills a fighter as the next best thing, they must make sure he is an all-around fighter who can withstand ground attacks; after all, this is Mixed Martial Arts and McGregor's fall is representation of susceptibility.

Has Corruption Reached the UFC? [Pettis vs Dos Anjos]

The announcement of UFC 185 headliner came as a shock to many UFC fight fans; Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis is set to defend his title for a 2nd time against Rafeal Dos Anjos. With Pettis coming in as a favorite and many fans excited about seeing Pettis in action again, what is being ignored is why 22-0 (6-0) in the UFC Khabib Nurmagomedov was passed over?

With UFC recent deal with brand powerhouse Reebok and the recent positive drug test of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, it seems that the UFC is worried about its image. Pettis has been seen on the box of wheaties and almost every other UFC promotions and has been called by UFC president Dana White "The best pound for pound fighter in the world." Is the UFC trying to protect Pettis from his flaws? And thus protect its brand name?

It would undoubtably be troublesome to see the Dagestani Sambo world champion and Judo black belt Nurmagomedov get the best of Pettis, but if Dana White wants politics and corruption to not rear its head in the UFC, then popularity cannot be placed over perspiration. Dos Anjos was defeated by Nurmagomedov on the undercard of UFC on Fox 11 in a one-sided fight that saw RDA lose by unanimous decision. It could be said that Dos Anjos, after his knockout victory of former WEC and UFC Lightweight champion Benson Henderson at UFC Fight Night 49, that Dos Anjos was placed against the incomplete Nate Diaz to set up his bout with Pettis, denying once again Nurmagomedov's claim to a title challenge. It can also be said that Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is being fast-tracked to meet Benson Henderson at UFC Fight Night 59 in hopes of another win to set him up for a second shot at Pettis. Pettis and Cerrone are amongst the two most popular fighters in the UFC as a whole. Profits will sky-rocket; as much as MMA is unpredictable, therein lies always a formula to predict the unpredictable. Dana White, Lorenzo Fertita and Joe Silva has found that formula, the very one that is manipulating not only profits, but fighter's careers.