Coach: Conor McGregor wants trilogy vs. Dustin Poirier, for the belt

Conor McGregor has brass balls.

The former champ champ has fought just three times in the last four-plus years, losing two of them. “The Notorious” lost to former interim champion Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 257 on Saturday night; when asked at the post-fight press conference what was next, he expressed a desire to fight on, citing trilogy fights vs. Poirier or Nate Diaz as potential next fights.

However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that division champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is not just MMA retired, but retired retired. And McGregor’s team has apparently determined what’s next, as SBGi founder John Kavanagh made clear during a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.

He’s already harassing everybody to get the rematch, so we would love to rematch, said Kavanagh. I don’t think Dustin is against that. If we can get the rematch before summer, that would be amazing.

If it’s not to be, then I guess I don’t really know. Maybe he drifts off into the boxing. So if the MMA community could help me out here, get behind me, and pester the UFC to give him another fight sooner rather than later – so I don’t lose him to boxing for six months – I would appreciate it.

McGregor’s head coach said further that a title on the line would be a big motivator for his fighter, and is the proper way to end the trilogy.

That’s the big drive, said Kavanagh. It’s 1-1, they’re right up there in the rankings, they’re very popular fighters.

I think the two of them are a beautiful matchup. Stylistically, it’s beautiful to watch. I’d love to see lots and lots of rounds between the two of them. Dustin is obviously riding high with confidence now with more experience and more weight. He took some of those shots. I’m sure his confidence is super high at the moment. We have to fix that technique with the leg and a couple of other things, as well, but Dustin vs. Conor 3 for the belt in maybe May, that would be amazing.

What do you think UG? Poirier gets a title shot. Who should it be against? And what opponent would make the most money?