UFC ‘discussed’ McGregor vs RDA for interim welterweight belt before arrest

Conor McGregor reportedly could’ve finalized a new UFC contract if he didn’t start that bus attack.

Before all the madness that came from Conor McGregor’s rampage and subsequent arrest, he was close to signing a new deal with the UFC.

“We were actually working on a new deal and a new plan for him all this week,” UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Friday. “Then he shows up and this happens.”

According to MMA Fighting, there were “stumbling blocks” that remained in negotiations, but the UFC was optimistic they could finalize a new contract with McGregor and announce it on Friday night’s press conference. White also seemed to hint at this as he went on record earlier in the week to say that he was “100%” confident of Conor’s return.

Interestingly enough, one of those earlier plans was for McGregor to fight for the interim welterweight title. From Ariel Helwani:

“Another plan discussed was to book Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos for the interim welterweight title in the spring, though McGregor and the UFC had to come to terms on a new contract first.”

All their plans about McGregor’s future were obviously scrapped after the bus assault, and the UFC announced that it will be Dos Anjos vs Colby Covington instead. The interim title bout was also moved from Brazil to UFC 225 in Chicago, reportedly to avoid another incident like this.

McGregor and Dos Anjos were originally set to fight for the lightweight title at UFC 196, before Nate Diaz stepped in an an injury replacement. The idea didn’t seem to get very far, but had this plan come to fruition, it would’ve set up the Irishman to gun for a third belt in as many divisions — albeit an interim one.

Tyron Woodley had already questioned the legitimacy of that “boo boo” interim belt when news of Dos Anjos and Covington first popped up.

The actual welterweight champ hasn’t even been out for a year and he claims he would’ve been ready to compete in July. Prior to that, Woodley also defended his belt three times in just eight months, making the creation of yet another interim title a bit of a head-scratcher.

McGregor is currently out on bail, and is facing multiple charges of assault.