The last few days have finally witnessed Conor McGregor refocus on the UFC by sending out a few cryptic social media posts in the direction of Khabib. With a return to the cage in the offing, Dana White has been speaking about his plans for the lightweight division to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.
White had intended on pairing McGregor with Tony Ferguson, but following Khabib's destruction of Edson Barboza at UFC 219, White has changed his mind.
Now, Khabib is likely to earn a shot at Ferguson, with the winner given an interim belt and the chance to face McGregor to claim the title of undisputed champion. This, however, is incumbent on McGregor's commitment: if he is willing to defend his title in March, White's above plan will go ahead. If he doesn't, then the Irishman will have to vacate the belt.
As long as Conor is willing to fight by March, we could do Khabib versus Tony and then the winner fights Conor for the title.
If Conor wants to sit out until next fall, then we’d have to make Khabib versus Tony for the title, not the interim title.
The full story is on Yahoo Sports.