McGregor's next fight will be against the Nevada commission

LAS VEGAS – This simple fact has lost all attention to the madness that followed the conclusion of the UFC 229 Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena: Conor McGregor is at a crossroads as a fighter .

The "champion champion" of origin was submitted in the fourth round by lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, placing him 2-2 in his last four MMA fights and at 2-3 if any 39 between them includes his 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Good McGregor became the first man of the career in 27 fights of Nurmagomedov to win a round of ithe was completely beaten and did not really participate in the fight. McGregor is an attacker, although he did a commendable job fighting Nurmagomedov's much vaunted struggles, especially early. But most of the time he was on defense and was trying to get away from this fierce champion. "Data-reactid =" 33 "> Although McGregor became the first man of the career in 27 fights of Nurmagomedov to win a round of ithe was completely beaten and did not really participate in the fight. McGregor is an attacker, although he did a commendable job fighting Nurmagomedov's much vaunted struggles, especially early. But he was mostly in defense and was trying to get away from the champion.

McGregor spent most of the first round on the back, being reviewed by Nurmagomedov. He spent most of the second lap doing the same, but he was beaten more often in the second round than at the first.

It was also in the second when the only reversal of the fight was marked. Nurmagomedov's right hand dropped McGregor. And even though he was not really hurt, it was a remarkable event considering McGregor's perceived advantage over his feet.

McGregor managed to keep the third-round standings, which is more than most of Nurmagomedov's opponents, but he never managed the only free kick he needed to change the course of the fight. In the fourth decisive round, he was, to use the words of Nurmagomedov before the fight, mistreated.

He lost little time in exploiting his submission once Nurmagomedov sank into naked strangling at the back.

McGregor earned a lot of money from Saturday's show, which is expected to exceed $ 30 million when pay-per-view receipts are counted. UFC President, Dana White, was not in the mood to discuss pay-per-view after the scramble ruined what had been up until then a spectacular evening, but it's probably safe to say that McGregor made the biggest day of his MMA career and his second-biggest payday ever.

He signed a contract extension of six fights with the UFC last month and announced on social media that he would return to the competition. At this stage of his career, McGregor will only lead significant, potentially historical battles.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "McGregor noted on Twitter that he was interested in a revengebut it is difficult to see how the result would change given the gap that separates them on the ground. Online sports bookmaker Bovada has made Nurmagomedov a favorite of under-280 to defeat McGregor in a potential rematch. Nurmagomedov closed Saturday at least 185 points at the MGM Grand Bookmaker. "Data-reactid =" 44 ">McGregor noted on Twitter that he was interested in a revengebut it is difficult to see how the result would change given the gap that separates them on the ground. Online sports bookmaker Bovada has made Nurmagomedov a favorite of under-280 to defeat McGregor in a potential rematch. Nurmagomedov closed at minus 185 on Saturday at the MGM Grand Sportsbook.

This suggested who would be McGregor's next opponent, with Nurmagomedov being the big favorite at under-160. He has Nate Diaz at 13-10; Jose Aldo at 9-1; Georges St-Pierre at 15-4 and welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at 18-1.

The most lucrative of these fights would be with St-Pierre, the former welterweight and middleweight champion, who is also one of the most popular fighters in the history of the sport. But given St-Pierre's struggle and exceptional struggles, as well as his physical size advantage, it's hard to see McGregor beat him.

The same goes for Woodley, an American university wrestler who is apparently able to propel McGregor to the mat.

An immediate revenge against Nurmagomedov seems unlikely for various reasons, the least of which is that the Nevada Sports Commission is about to suspend him for jumping over the cage. While McGregor's insults during the two-month promotion were far too personal, nothing excuses Nurmagomedov's attack on his McGregor teammate, Dillon Danis.

By doing this, Nurmagomedov endangers the safety of innocent people.

McGregor, however, was not innocent either. Shortly after Nurmagomedov started pursuing Danis, McGregor climbed into the cage and jumped his leg to try to get to the ground and get involved in the fray. Charvez Foger, inspector of the sports commission of Nevada, prevented him from doing it.

More

The story continues