June has been an interesting month for the UFC. And as it turns out, for its future. Justin Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria in a stunning upset. And July is set to bring Conor McGregor back into the spotlight against Max Holloway. While it would be a tough task for ‘The Mac’ to beat ‘Blessed’ after years on the sidelines, Israel Adesanya has already made up his mind. 

If McGregor wins, Adesanya wants him to face Gaethje next. In doing so, McGregor would land a title shot without even being on the rankings. Realistically, Arman Tsarukyan deserves that title fight. After all, the UFC snubbed him before, and he is the No. 2 contender. However, Adesanya is willing to overlook that for one reason—that’s where the real money is. 

“I think Gaethje sitting frontside at the Max vs. Conor in Vegas, he’s already got the story there with Max, wants revenge, but also Conor and Gaethje would feed families, it would feed f–king countries, that would be crazy,” Adesanya told the reason to Demetrious Johnson on the MightyCast. “It would. It would feed everybody, World Vision.”

Israel Adesanya isn’t wrong about the scale of the potential fight. Fans literally saw Gaethje beat who everyone thought would end his career. And given McGregor’s existing fanbase, one would be hard-pressed to question the scale of such a bout. Still, getting to ‘The Highlight’ won’t be easy for McGregor, something Adesanya noted.

The former middleweight champion went as far as to suggest Conor McGregor should have fought Michael Chandler instead. He wouldn’t just have been an easier opponent, but one that had waited for a fight against him for years. Still, Adesanya feels that if anyone can get the job done, it would be Conor McGregor. 

Yet, if McGregor pulls off an upset on July 11 and faces ‘The Highlight’ next, as Adesanya wishes, he understands what it means for Arman Tsarukyan. 

“Technically, [Tsarukyan] should be the next guy to fight Justin,” he added. “That would be a crazy fight, but the UFC likes the narratives they can create, and the one with Conor or Max, revenge match with Max, that would be insane. They probably do it [at] the end of the year.”

Regardless of the date, Arman Tsarukyan won’t be happy about it. The Armenian lightweight, who was not only the backup for the fight but also had a grand ol’ time when rival Topuria lost, has already told the promotion that Gaethje’s next opponent has to be him. He feels “who else” could it be. But Gaethje holds a trump card. 

He has flirted with the idea of retirement. And even after his latest win, hasn’t given a definitive answer about his future. So, if the UFC hopes to get one final fight out of him, it may have to accommodate his wishes. If McGregor is the opponent he wants next, that fight could happen. 

Historically, McGregor and his coach have previously pushed for the matchup, only for ‘The Highlight’ to turn it down. This time, however, things could be different, especially because McGregor has the date for his second bout. 

Conor McGregor has his second fight date locked in

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, ‘The Mac’ claimed that he has his second fight date locked in. Of course, there’s the July 11 rematch against Max Holloway. Then McGregor claims he will return to the cage almost a year later. 

“When would you think they put me back in? April 2027,” McGregor said. ”It’s almost a year later. That’s ridiculous to me. But this is the way the contract was done. I have a second date in April 2027.”

There are also some changes to his contract with the UFC since the pay-per-view era is gone. Although he didn’t reveal the details, he claimed he and UFC met somewhere in the middle. 

“We got a juicy one. Was it what my worth is? Probably not. Was it what they wanted to offer? Definitely not. I’m a fair operator. I love the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and I’d love to continue. Let’s see how it goes.”

McGregor and Holloway first met in August 2013, when the Irishman was just one fight into his UFC career. McGregor emerged victorious that night, but if they run it back in July, the outcome may not be the same.