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Should the UFC put Conor McGregor into the next Featherweight Title fight over the Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson winner? Why or why not?
CASH NORMAN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Should the UFC put Conor McGregor in the next Featherweight title fight? Absolutely. McGregor has done something that Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, and Cub Swanson in all their years combined of mixed martial arts haven't been able to do, which is become a star. Having a star in the featherweight division fighting for the title shines a light on it. All divisions that are not welterweight or above have been largely ignored. I think part of this is the UFC's fault, but they now realize they have a guy in McGregor who can sell fights and sell that weight class.
Frankie Edgar couldn't sell the lightweight division when he was champion. Unfortunately, Cub Swanson has chosen to become the quiet humble warrior. The old adage goes, 'a closed mouth doesn't get fed,' and the braggadocios Irishman hasn't stopped yammering, so let him take the lead.
In the UFC today, humility will leave you hungry. Fortune favors the bold, and McGregor was bold enough to call out those in the featherweight division that would place him in line for a title fight after only four bouts. Forget the luck of the Irish, it's the cleverness of this Irishman you should admire.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
No, I don't think so. The only times I think you should ever throw a guy into a title shot is when you're lacking good challengers. That's not the case here. There's a lot of guys in the title mix in the division, so I would be against throwing McGregor in the title fight right now. I would put him in there with a highly ranked opponent and see what happens. If McGregor won in explosive fashion again, I would be all for him getting
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
My answer is to drop him in against the winner just to see what he's really made of. This guy oozes charisma, and I can't stop cheering against him because he comes off as such a cocky prick, but holy crap does he back it up word for word. I would love to see him fight Aldo or Swanson, but I think his weakness would be the advanced level wrestling of Edgar or Mendes. His mouth has put him in line for the next shot after the Aldo-Mendes 2 fight, but can he defeat a truly top five fighter? Poirier is a gatekeeper, but the other four guys mentioned are top level talents who can kill pretenders.
TOM STRONG, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR
Anything is possible within the UFC, just look at Chris Cariaso who fought for the belt on Saturday night. It wouldn't surprise me one little bit if they decided to give McGregor the next title shot, but does he deserve it next? Certainly not. I think Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar would be very upset to see him given the chance before they fight.
In an ideal world, the winner of Cub vs. Edgar should be next in line to fight for the title. Match McGregor up with Ricardo Lamas, if he comes through that fight then he maybe he's done enough to earn a title shot.
The biggest problem the UFC have is Conor McGregor is very hot at the moment. Fans are invested in him, all Dana can see is dollar signs, and he knows it will generate so much money if he puts McGregor in line for the belt next, so it's probably going to happen.
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