Conor McGregor has said before that he loves options. Well, according to SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh, McGregor had plenty of options for UFC 197.
In a column penned Tuesday for Irish outlet The 42, Kavanagh revealed that aside from featherweight contender Frankie Edgar and eventual McGregor lottery winner Rafael dos Anjos, the UFC offered a second choice of lightweight opponent as well, which McGregor ultimately declined.
"There was another option on the table at lightweight," Kavanagh wrote, "but this is the fight we wanted because it will be the first time any fighter has held two UFC belts simultaneously. B.J. Penn tried but was unable to manage it, but I suppose if there's one thing Conor enjoys doing more than knocking people out, it's breaking records."
Kavanagh elected not to elaborate on the name of the mystery lightweight, although a likely option would be Nate Diaz, who made a splash on Dec. 19 with a victory over Michael Johnson and subsequent, profanity-laced callout of McGregor at UFC on FOX 17.
Regardless, both the third option and Edgar were ultimately passed over in favor of dos Anjos, the UFC's reigning lightweight champion, who will now put his title on the line against McGregor on March 5 in the main event of UFC 197. The announcement fulfills the promise McGregor made when he first entered the UFC in 2013 and vowed to conquer the featherweight division, then attempt to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts concurrently.
As for Edgar, who knocked out Chad Mendes on Dec. 11 to seize pole position for McGregor's featherweight belt, Kavanagh addressed the issue directly, pointing out that former champion Jose Aldo defended his belt sparingly and that a proposed meeting with Edgar on July 9 at UFC 200 would mark only a seven-month gap between defenses of the UFC featherweight title. "Look at this as a warm-up fight, albeit a dangerous one against the lightweight champion," Kavanagh wrote.
"If Conor's next fight was announced as being against Frankie, there would be a lot of complaints about him cutting too much weight and being too big for the rest of the 145lbs guys. People would also claim that he was running from Rafael dos Anjos.
"Instead, they'll say he should be staying at featherweight and that he's afraid of Frankie. But as I've said many times before, it's great that questions are being asked because answering them is what sport is all about. The day there are no more questions being asked of you is the day you're no longer relevant."
Kavanagh went on to hint that lightweight may not be the end of McGregor's divisional goals, and that a run to welterweight could be in the cards for 2017 as well.
"I've said from the beginning that welterweight may not be out of the question," Kavanagh wrote. "One of Conor's main sparring partners, Gunnar Nelson, is a welterweight, so Conor is very used to that feel. I would not be at all surprised if we're preparing to go for a third belt a year from now."
Kavanagh closed his thoughts by turning back to dos Anjos.
He called McGregor's cut to featherweight at UFC 194 under the watch of nutritionist George Lockhart the easiest cut of McGregor's career, and indicated that people will be surprised to see how big the Irishman can get when he is allowed to focus on training rather than his weight, stating, "You've seen Conor on salads... now watch what he's like on steak."
In true McGregor fashion, Kavanagh also delved into the realm of prediction, suggesting that his pupil would make quick work of dos Anjos.
"Dos Anjos has looked more comfortable with his striking in his last few fights," Kavanagh wrote, "so I think he'll have a level of comfort on his feet, which he'll want to test against Conor. If so, he'll end up leaning into shots and being hit hard and early.
"I believe this will be another one that won't see the end of the first round. If dos Anjos manages to survive the first exchange, he'll become a panicked grappler. Should that happen, I'm looking forward to people getting an opportunity to see just how comfortable Conor is in that regard."