Conor McGregor looks to have been offered the opportunity of a title shot against welterweight champion Kamaru Usman – and the chance to create yet more history.
The Irishman, the first fighter in UFC to hold two belts at the same time, has spent the past few weeks calling out a number of lightweight rivals, including champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim belt-holder Justin Gaethje.
However, the manager to those two, Ali Abdelaziz, appears to have given McGregor a route to the title at 170lbs, should No 3-ranked challenger Jorge Masvidal seek a rematch with Nate Diaz instead of going up against Usman.
Masvidal defeated Diaz in November, but on Sunday opened the door for another clash with his outspoken rival, tweeting “Let’s run it back”.
That could pave the way for McGregor to take on the formidable Usman, according to Abdelaziz, who also represents the Nigerian.
Taking to social media on Sunday, Abdelaziz tweeted: “It looks like #1 contender wants to fight Nate Diaz now. Good for him. [McGregor] hey you want a title shot? Come to daddy. [Usman] will give you one and he promise first 2 rounds without takedowns, only slaps.”
ESPN later reported Abdelaziz confirmed to them that he would give McGregor the opportunity to go up against Usman should Masvidal-Diaz II go ahead.
McGregor, who previously simultaneously held the featherweight and welterweight crowns, has not fought since January, when he snapped a 14-month hiatus from the sport by defeating Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds. The bout took place at welterweight. As of yet, no fighter in UFC history has won titles at three different weights.
Usman, meanwhile, was last in action in December, seeing off Colby Covington by a fifth-round TKO. He is unbeaten in 11 fights since joining the UFC in 2015 and had been expected to take on Masvidal next.
The latest round of back-and-forwards regarding who faces who was sparked in part by McGregor's musing at the weekend on the greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all-time.
True to form, the former two-weight champion said he should be considered second on the list or even joint-first, alongside Anderson Silva. The claims prompted a backlash from a number of high-profile foes, including Nurmagomedov.
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Who next for Conor McGregor? Five potential fights
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
