A report on UFC Tonight yesterday suggested that Conor McGregor had a leg injury that would keep him from competing at UFC 205 in November, but other sources have claimed otherwise.
That’s the word according to MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, who claims that ‘multiple sources’ have informed him that McGregor is in fact healthy, not to mention ‘ready and willing’ to fight lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at the Madison Square Garden event in NYC on November 12th.
The news comes hot on the heels of news that the UFC are now targeting a bout between Alvarez and Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 206 in Toronto, Canada in December after Alvarez failed to sign on the dotted line for the fight at UFC 205 before a deadline imposed by the promotion.
Given that McGregor and Alvarez have both made it clear they want to fight each other at UFC 205, which would make the perfect headliner for the event, the fact that the UFC aren’t jumping on the chance to book it suggests that there may be a power struggle going on behind the scenes.
Given the tense stand-off between McGregor and the UFC prior to finally nailing down a rematch with Nate Diaz earlier this year, it could well be that they find themselves in a similar predicament once again, with financial demands and the fate of McGregor’s featherweight title both being theoretical stumbling blocks at the negotiating table.
If there is any chance that McGregor could still fight at UFC 205 – and Helwani reports that Alvarez is the only person he’s interested in fighting at this time – then a deal would have to be struck in the near future as the promotion are expected to unveil the full fight card for the show in NYC at a press conference on Tuesday, 27th of September – less than a week away.
