Would Diaz be in Conor’s plans after UFC 264?

The expectation is that the winner of the trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor at UFC 264 will be the next challenger to lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. But would anything change those plans?

Few doubt Poirier will go for the title if he gets his second straight win over the Irish superstar. He could have already fought for gold, but he chose the more lucrative option of facing McGregor for a third time.

But what if McGregor wins – will he challenge Oliveira, or would he look to complete another high-quality trilogy against Nate Diaz? Even if he loses to Diaz at a higher weight, that might not affect his lightweight title shot in his next fight.

ESPN’s panel of Mike Coppinger, Carlos Contreras Legaspi and Marc Raimondi separates what’s real from what’s not real for UFC 264.
If McGregor wins, he’ll definitely fight for the title next.
Raimondi: This is just a question because we’re talking about Conor McGregor, the biggest star in UFC history, and essentially he can make his own decision. So if McGregor wanted to complete his trilogy with Diaz next, whether he wins or loses to Poirier, UFC would probably back him. You never know with McGregor. He might want to get back to boxing, although it seems the mooted Manny Pacquiao showdown fizzled out now that McGregor’s representation, Paradigm Sports Management, is suing Pacquiao for breach of contract.

If McGregor loses to Poirier, the Diaz trilogy could be the fight to make. But if McGregor wins, the most logical step is to challenge Charles Oliveira for the belt. McGregor is already a former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, but he’s surely motivated by the possibility of becoming the first fighter to win the UFC lightweight title more than once.

He seems to have been considered more of a popular attraction than an elite fighter since losing in his foray into boxing to Floyd Mayweather in 2017 and to Khabib Nurmagomedov the following year. McGregor would surely enjoy regaining the title he once held, etching his name in the UFC history books once again and proving a lot of people wrong. And that’s why it’s title or go down to the wire next if he beats Poirier.

Win or lose, Poirier won’t regret completing the trilogy against Conor over fighting for the title.
Legaspi: Definitely real. Minutes after knocking out McGregor at UFC 257, Poirier expressed his intention to complete the trilogy with McGregor rather than fight for a vacant title. He even toyed put on a matchmaker’s hat and mentioned that Michael Chandler should fight Charles Oliveira, which eventually happened four months later. The 155 belt was not on his mind, and it was clear to him from the beginning.

A Conor event in Las Vegas is bigger than anything boxing currently has to offer.

Coppinger: Real. McGregor is the biggest star in combat sports right now. Canelo Alvarez is second, with Manny Pacquiao and heavyweight champion Tyson Fury right behind them.

Those three boxers are major attractions on The Strip, but none have the star power of McGregor, a genuine crossover attraction that takes Las Vegas by storm every time his fight week rolls around.

His events sell out instantly, regardless of the competition. A fight with underdog Cowboy Cerrone? That’s a mega-event.

And now, with Las Vegas coming out of the pandemic, who better than McGregor to be the first star to tap into his full capacity?

That it’s a trilogy fight with another popular fighter in Dustin Poirier makes the event even more of a monster.

And the stakes are high, as McGregor looks to bounce back from his knockout loss to Poirier in January. With another loss, McGregor will remain a star, but as far as the top fighter in Las Vegas is concerned, Alvarez is hot on his heels and gunning for a Sept. 18 fight with Caleb Plant in Las Vegas for all four belts.