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UFC 264 not only saw Conor McGregor suffer a horrible ankle injury, but he also suffered a massive defeat, losing for the second time to bitter rival Dustin Poirier.
Conor McGregor has now won just one of his past four fights in the UFC, so could it be time for a step down in competition for ‘The Notorious’?
The truth is that Conor McGregor probably still believes he can recapture the UFC lightweight title that he never actually lost inside the octagon. But to do that, he needs to find a way to start winning fights again.
So, could his path to redemption involve an easier opponent? Quite possibly.
So with this in mind, here are three reasons why Conor McGregor should take a step down in competition after UFC 264.
#3 A lesser opponent won’t affect Conor McGregor’s drawing power, nor his bottom line – but a loss might
Conor McGregor is comfortably the UFC's biggest drawing star, with every pay-per-view that he headlines these days comfortably clearing a million buys.
And thanks to a contract with the UFC that offers him a share of pay-per-view revenue, that means that every time he fights, he makes some serious money.
However, McGregor's star power was always built upon his ability inside the octagon. 'The Notorious' would never have become the megastar he is today if he wasn't able to fight. In his early days, he backed his braggadocio with wins over the likes of Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez.
After two losses to Dustin Poirier – a man who may be the best lightweight on the planet right now – Conor McGregor's drawing power probably isn't going to be affected. No UFC fan in their right mind would see any shame in a loss to 'Diamond.'
But should McGregor lose for the third time in a row – which would definitely be possible if he were to be matched with a high-end opponent such as Justin Gaethje or Michael Chandler – the consensus might be that he's washed up. And in turn, his drawing ability might decrease.
However, if the UFC were to match him with a fighter far lower down the totem pole – or better still, a fighter who now looks past his prime, like Tony Ferguson for instance – and McGregor were to win, it'd ensure that fans would believe he's still relevant.
And right now, because UFC fans wouldn't have lost complete faith in Conor McGregor, a fight matching him with literally any fighter on the UFC's roster would probably draw hugely. That means that a drop in competition would be well worth the time for 'Notorious' and likely wouldn't affect his bottom line either.
#2 Victory breeds confidence, which breeds victory
Right now, it's safe to say that Conor McGregor is probably at the lowest point of his UFC career. He's coming off two straight losses for the first time, and in both of his recent fights with Dustin Poirier, he was clearly beaten by a superior fighter.
'The Notorious' has always built an aura of invincibility around his self-confidence, particularly in the early days of his UFC career. McGregor clearly believed he could defeat any fighter on the planet and lived up to those boasts in his major wins.
But coming off the back of two bad losses, would it even be possible for McGregor to hold such self-confidence? Publicly he might claim to, but in reality, it doesn't seem very likely.
However, in the world of the UFC, the one thing that can build confidence more than anything else is an impressive victory, regardless of the opponent.
We saw this with Conor McGregor in 2020. Coming into UFC 246, he hadn't fought in well over a year following his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
But faced with a somewhat over-matched foe in Donald Cerrone, McGregor delivered one of his career-best performances, shellacking 'Cowboy' in less than a minute.
Suddenly, McGregor looked just as unstoppable as he’d looked when he came off his destruction of Eddie Alvarez. Had he carried the momentum from his win over Cerrone into another fight in 2020, who knows what might’ve happened?
Essentially, then, if McGregor were to be matched with a foe slightly lower down the totem pole – a rebound fight, if you will – then there’s every chance that he’d be able to channel his former self and win handily.
If that were to happen, ‘Notorious’ would instantly regain his swagger, which would then help him in his next fight if he were to move back up the ladder to fight a higher-ranked opponent. At this stage, it’s the only move that really makes sense for the Irishman.
#1 After a serious injury, Conor McGregor can’t afford to be too careful
While he might’ve played it down after the fight, cutting a typically angry and combative promo from the floor of the octagon, it’s impossible to ignore the severe nature of the injury that Conor McGregor suffered in his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
McGregor snapped his left tibia, and while he’s already claimed that surgery on the break has gone well – stating he’ll be off crutches in six weeks and ready to train again – an injury of this kind may well keep him out for longer than he expects.
Anderson Silva, for instance, was on the shelf for over a year after suffering a gruesome broken leg in his fight with Chris Weidman in 2013. And it could be argued that ‘The Spider’ was never the same fighter afterward.
So for Conor McGregor to expect to return to the UFC against a high-level opponent would essentially be folly. The likelihood is that ‘Notorious’ would be highly rusty, leaving him easy picking for a predator like Justin Gaethje or Michael Chandler.
If the UFC were to match the Irish superstar against someone lower down the totem pole, though, he’d be much more likely to make a successful comeback from his injury, even if he might be forced to fight more carefully.
Basically, if the UFC wants to protect its golden goose – and there’s no reason why they wouldn’t want to do that – they’ll need to match him very carefully after he returns from this serious injury.
That means that whether or not he likes it, a step down in competition is probably the best thing for Conor McGregor and all parties concerned.
