[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] isn’t sure if [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] should headline UFC 300.
With McGregor “submitting the paperwork” to re-enter the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing pool, his six-month period of mandatory testing could make him eligible to compete in April – right around the time of the UFC’s milestone 300th show.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is undoubtedly the promotion’s biggest star and highest-selling draw. Cormier finds it hard to believe that McGregor’s expected fight with [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] wouldn’t headline UFC 300, but would it headline over championship fights?
“People in the general public are so excited about Conor McGregor coming back, and I got to be honest with you: I feel like a lot of the hardcore fans are a little fed up with it,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “They just want to see him back. They’re tired of he’s back, he’s gone, he’s back. They want Conor McGregor back, and they want him back in a manner in which he’s consistent and he’s fighting frequently. But I don’t know if that’s going to be the case with Conor anymore. I believe at this point he’s a marquee attraction that, when he’s there, he warrants the biggest fights in the world, meaning UFC 300 does fit the bill. But that also lends you to ask this question: Does Conor McGregor at UFC 300 main event? Because generally when you do a UFC 300, 100, or 200, there are a number of title fights on that card.
“Does Conor McGregor top all those title fights and headline? And if he doesn’t, how do you have a conversation with Conor about him not being in the headlining seat when most of the people who will tune in will be watching Conor? But when you watch Conor’s fights, he has been on a bit of a downturn. He has not won many fights, but I think that speaks to the star power that he possesses. That even though he is on that type of a run, he’s still maybe the guy that, when you look at the biggest fight in the history of the sport and the history of the company, they go, ‘You know what? Title fights or not, you are still going to be the headlining act.’ Is Conor McGregor the headlining act at UFC 300, or does he go before people that are holding championship belts?”
Chandler (23-8 MMA, 18-5 UFC) is unsure if he and McGregor headline UFC 300 but thinks their fight is worthy of it.
“Do I think we’re deserving of that? I think ‘deserve’ is a tough word that anybody should use these days because a lot of people think they deserve a lot more than they actually do,” Chandler said. “However, I do think Conor and I are main event material. Do I think it’s going to be UFC 300, I don’t know. Do I think we’re worthy of that? I don’t know. Do I know what’s going to happen tomorrow let alone six months from now? No, I don’t. Either way, it’s a big fight.
“Every single time Conor has tweeted, every single time Conor has teased that he’s coming back, every single time they’ve watched ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ every time they see me out here training, keeping my nose to the grindstone knowing that Conor is up against one of the toughest tests he’s had in his entire career, if not the toughest test, especially coming off of a two-year layoff, this fight has all the makings of fireworks. This fight has the makings of main event milestone material, so we’ll see.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.