UFC 229 Primer: Who Will Step in and Fight Conor When Khabib Bows Out?

Right now Conor McGregor versus Khabib Nurmagomedov is the biggest fight the UFC can make, and it’s set to be the main event for UFC 229 this weekend. Hooray! Conor and Khabib are going to fight!

Okay, now that the thrill of their impending match-up has made us happy, let’s face reality: There’s a very good chance that come Saturday night, that won’t be our main event.

Not to jinx things, but our intrepid lightweight champ, Khabib, has been known to have issues cutting weight. In fact, it’s a minor miracle he ever won the belt. Not because he isn’t good – he is. But because for one reason or another, he’s had to bow out of fights at the last minute.

McGregor is superhuman and impervious to training injuries, and he can cut weight all the way down to 135 pounds without checking into the emergency room. So we don’t have to worry about him.

But Khabib…

So the big question then will be who actually faces McGregor in the main event. Thankfully, the UFC is playing four-dimensional chess here and have thought ahead. They put former interim champ Tony Ferguson and former champ Anthony Pettis as the co-main event.

Yup, that’s right. In the highly-possible chance that Khabib can’t fight, we might be seeing McGregor smash Ferguson or Pettis. Heck, Conor would be willing to fight them both if the money was right!

So of Ferguson and Pettis, who do you think will fare better against the Irish superstar? Ponder that while you watch the first installment of Embedded for the week.