The Savage Truth: The World According to Conor

Editor's note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

It’s Conor McGregor’s world, and we all just live here.

After his stunning knockout of Jose Aldo (the only featherweight champion the Ultimate Fighting Championship had ever known), it was assumed McGregor would make the jump to lightweight to take on the winner of the UFC on Fox 17 main event between Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone. Well, with that one in the books and dos Anjos having defended his 155-pound title in just 66 seconds -- a lifetime longer than McGregor’s 13-second KO -- people are lining up to take a shot at the sport’s biggest star.

There seems to be three clear options for the promotion to choose from as it heads into 2016 with all the momentum of a runaway freight train. First, you have Frankie Edgar, who would make a nice foil for McGregor should the Irishman decide eating like a super model for another three months is enticing enough to hang around and truly clean out the 145-pound division. This seems about the least likely outcome to me, considering McGregor’s stated desire to move up in weight.

It doesn’t take a gypsy to read the tealeaves on this one, folks. Multiple people who were behind the curtain before the UFC 194 weigh-ins told me McGregor was in agony as he waited to hit the scale. He is a showman, though, and he sold it to the fans in attendance when he strutted out there brimming with the confidence we have come to expect from him. Despite that fact, it was clear he did not look healthy; his face was gaunt and his eyes had the sunken look of a fighter who struggled to make weight.

For these reasons, I think he will make the jump to lightweight for his next bout. Edgar shouldn’t despair, though, as reliable sources have told me McGregor has zero interest in giving up the 145-pound strap if he moves up in weight. The apparent plan is to take a fight at 155 pounds in the spring and then go back down to defend the featherweight belt against Edgar at UFC 200.

In the meantime, that would seemingly put McGregor on a collision course with dos Anjos. The Irishman has stated his goal of clinching the championship-double he notched in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship before he was picked up by the UFC. If he did indeed take on the lightweight champion and snatch away his belt, McGregor would be the first simultaneous two-division titleholder in the promotion’s history.

Dos Anjos said he would love to “welcome” McGregor to his division should he make the “mistake” of moving up. He is almost too nice of a guy, though, because he really sounded like he was doing the neighborly thing rather than calling out the sport’s biggest draw.

UFC President Dana White said after McGregor’s KO of Aldo that if he wanted to move up, he would receive an immediate title shot. However, one has to wonder if the promotion wants to send its biggest draw up against the kind of killer dos Anjos has become. I know McGregor wouldn’t care, because I think he really believes there isn’t a fighter at lightweight or lower that can best him.

That leaves us with door number three.

In my opinion, “Red Panty Night” is going to be coming to the 209; and while I really wish it could be Nick Diaz -- on Thursday in Orlando, Florida, he told me and UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby that he would drop to 155 pounds to fight McGregor in a heartbeat -- he remains in regulatory limbo after the Nevada Athletic Commission handed him what amounted to a death penalty earlier this year.

That leaves younger brother Nate Diaz, who just pummeled a quality fighter in Michael Johnson before cutting an all-time promo that left UFC commentator Joe Rogan chuckling in bewilderment and Fox producers scrambling for the delay button. The profane tirade -- like “I need to go to church after that” profane -- put McGregor squarely in his crosshairs.

I know some people don’t want to see this. They feel Diaz is either an enfant terrible or hasn’t done anything to deserve a crack at a fight of this magnitude; and they might be right on both counts. The only problem with the argument: Like his brother, Diaz moves the needle and it would be a massive fight for everyone involved. Honestly, we heard all the same arguments when the elder Diaz came back after a long layoff to face Georges St. Pierre in 2013. That didn’t stop the UFC from putting the fight together at the behest of its biggest draw of the time. The fight did well, as all GSP fights did, and fans generally got over their initial issues with it.

I think the same thing will happen in 2016. McGregor-Diaz is the money fight that makes the most sense for all parties involved. No one can dispute the buildup to the fight will be epic and it allows McGregor to go up in weight while staying away from dos Anjos, for a little while anyway.

Ultimately, it will come down to what McGregor decides he wants to do. I still think there’s a slight chance he could go for the second belt, but if I’m Joe Silva and the UFC, I try to steer him towards Diaz at every negotiating turn. There’s always a risk when it comes to MMA, but in my opinion, it’s substantially less with Diaz than with dos Anjos.

Silva and Shelby always say their job is to create options and win-win matchups for the fighters and the promotion. I’d say these are three very good options to have heading into the New Year. I guess all of us, the UFC included, better get used to asking King Conor about what direction our sport is headed.

Sherdog.com Executive Editor Greg Savage can be reached by email at [email protected] or via Twitter @TheSavageTruth.