Conor McGregor has his sights firmly set on the UFC lightweight belt with a possible title fight coming as early as March, according to the recently crowned world champion’s coach John Kavanagh.
The Dubliner claimed the featherweight title last weekend with a stunning win over Brazilian Jose Aldo in Las Vegas.
And now the possibilities range from a re-match with Aldo to a defence against Frankie Edgar, while the option of moving up a division to lightweight to challenge the winner of Saturday’s fight between Rafael Dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone is also a distinct possibility.
The move to lightweight would see McGregor increase his weight by up to ten pounds (155lb) for that title fight, and speaking on RTÉ 2fm, Kavanagh indicated that a shot at another UFC title is certainlly on the cards: “I think we're looking at late March or mid-April and the lightweight belt. That's what I think is next," he said.
"That's being contested on Saturday night, so whoever the unfortunate winner of that belt is faces Conor."
Kavanagh also spoke about his fighter's uncanny ability to wind up his opponents in the build-up to a fight.
"Conor has an ability to get under people's skin, I'm not sure how much it affected Aldo. Only he knows the truth," he said.
"He seemed kind of wound up and tense. It doesn't do any harm and it pushes those pay-per-view ratings.
"Maybe it's a Dublin thing, Conor would give a guy in the gym a hard time but it's a playful thing.
"If you really want to be good at this, there is a sporting aspect and a technical aspect but it is entertainment and it's no harm being good with the mic."
McGregor is a nominee for the RTÉ Sport Person of the Year award on Saturday night (Live on RTÉ One from 9.40pm).
.@TheNotoriousMMA. The UFC featherweight champion. Conor McGregor swept all before him in 2015. https://t.co/OlZqqEWuH8
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 18, 2015
