Kamaru Usman grants Conor McGregor a title shot under one condition
The Irishman has long been mooting a return to the octagon and it is Usman's 170lb belt that McGregor so desires
Irish fighter Conor McGregor's aspirations to return to the octagon to fight for his third world title have been provided something of a boost after fighter Kamaru Usman's manager proposed a tournament to decide who got to grapple with his in-demand star.
The Irishman has long been mooting a return to the octagon and it is Usman's 170lb belt that McGregor so desires.
With the Nigerian being just about the most in-demand property in UFC at the moment, McGregor is not alone in his wish to take him on and it appears Usman is less keen to take on McGregor soon.
With McGregor desperate for the title shot, Ali Abdelaziz, Usman's manager, suggested on Twitter a way in which he could go about getting the fight.
He wrote: 'Kamaru Usman vs vs Leon Edwards and Conor vs Nate, this is 4 man tournament.
Whether or not that is even a credible way of going about securing the fight remains to be seen, but if nothing else it is likely to anger fans as it would appear neither McGregor nor Nate Diaz have earned that potential title shot.
McGregor has lost his last two fights and while Diaz has been defeated on three of his last four occasions in the octagon.
The pull McGregor has in the sport is enormous and this is something White, promotional boss for UFC, is very much aware of.
White suggested McGregor had never let him down and as a result he is provided 'special treatment' because he's a 'special' guy.
'Conor McGregor has been that guy since the day that he walked into this f****** company.
'So, for anybody to point the finger and say, "Oh, this guy’s getting special treatment..." (Because) This guy’s special. This guy’s f****** special.'
Meanwhile, McGregor himself has said that he is getting fitter by the day after surgery to mend his broken leg and he is targeting a return to the octagon and a showdown with Usman.
He told the Mirror: 'I'm looking forward to getting back into the octagon. We'll see what happens, the leg's getting better every day, I think 170 is where I'm aiming for, I feel good at this weight.'
'I feel confident against Usman,' he told TheMacLife last month.
'A jab-happy, sloppy, orthodox wrestler with no submissions whatsoever - what's he going to do? Where's the danger here? I don't see danger - no one has ever obtained three titles in three divisions like I will do if we make this fight.'
