For too long, our writers’ hyper-specific arguments have been confined to the private corridors of the Internet. Welcome to The List, where we take their instant message bickerings, add a little polish, and make them public. Today, we discuss who should get the next shot at two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor.

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Nate Diaz, because a rivalry this good can’t end in a tie

Ben Fowlkes: Look, I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not going to try to convince you that Nathan Donald Diaz is the most deserving contender for the UFC lightweight crown. He’s not even the second or third most deserving. Even by the intentionally vague standards of the Dana White “in the mix” metric, Diaz’s feats as a lightweight barely qualify him.

But come on, you know what’s up. You know as well as I do that this rubber match has to happen eventually. You know that a 1-1 stalemate is no way to leave things. You also know that Diaz is probably not going to stop showing up at McGregor’s social functions until he gets his shot at breaking that tie.

Is that a good enough reason, all by itself, to give him the fight? Maybe not. But consider this: McGregor has been in the UFC for a little more than three years now, and only one person has really and truly beaten him up.

And I don’t care what the record books say; Diaz didn’t just beat him up once. The same man that just styled all over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 went limping out of the cage following his majority-decision win over Diaz at UFC 202. The left hand that’s spelled doom for everyone else? Diaz ate it like it was a dry turkey sandwich. Which is to say, he wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, but he wasn’t going to complain, either.

In the first fight, Diaz took McGregor’s best shots and then broke him over his knee like a piece of kindling. In the rematch he nearly did it again, until McGregor dug deep inside himself to push through out and eek out the win. You could actually see McGregor growing as a fighter in that second bout. So just imagine what heights Diaz could push him to in the third meeting. Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson can figure out who got next in another fight you know you’d watch.

And if all that doesn’t convince you that I’m right to throw rankings out the window and book “McGregor-Diaz III: The Final Reckoning,” just look at the upcoming schedule. The UFC is coming back to New York City in February, ready to reap the rewards of a city where the only thing higher than the skyscrapers are the ticket prices. And that event? It just happens to be UFC 209, homie. (Whut, whut?!)

Tony Ferguson, because next to the fun and easy cash grab that’s Diaz, he deserves it

Steven Marrocco: Leave it to Fowlkes to pick the low-hanging fruit, because I think we all know that McGregor is going to fight Diaz a third time for the lightweight belt. Diaz planted the seed by crashing the champ’s UFC 205 victory party, his coach has teed up the trilogy, and the matchup is money in the bank. Under the new ownership, there’s little incentive to heed the rankings, and McGregor certainly doesn’t seem like the guy to shut off the ATM out of consideration for the sport.

And yes, Diaz and McGregor make magic in the octagon together. Sport and entertainment, there you go.

But if we’re talking about an equally exciting, equally competitive matchup, I think you have to go with Tony Ferguson. When “El Cucuy” beat ex-champ Rafael dos Anjos, in my book, he took the frontrunner position. Because really, what kind of fighter finds a way to salsa dance in the middle of the most important fight of his life? What kind of guy fires off a “Rolling Thunder” like it’s a takedown attempt, and still manages to outbox an ex-champ? I say it’s one who’s ready for the circus that the sport’s biggest star brings to the table.

Ferguson is technical, reckless and still finds a way to win – he’s done it nine straight times in the octagon. He fights like he doesn’t give a whut, which is exactly what we expect from Diaz. He might not move the needle as much, but you can bet it will still move. At no time has it been any different for McGregor.

Obviously, a lot of hardcores would like to see Ferguson and Nurmagomedov fight for the opportunity to meet McGregor. Some think Nurmagomedov gets it by default. But based on what I’ve seen from the lightweight contenders to date, Ferguson makes a more compelling matchup for the champ. Nurmagomedov might have thumped Michael Johnson on the ground at UFC 205, but he also got pieced up before he could take the fight to the mat. I believe Ferguson could stand up to McGregor’s punches. I’m not so sure the same is true for “The Eagle.”

The top-ranked lightweights may end up fighting each other after all if McGregor takes the obvious road. Hopefully, the third time would be a charm and we could finally find out who’s the rightful contender. But if we’re matchmaking based on who’s the best man now, and if we briefly halt the march of capitalism, my vote is for Ferguson.

Khabib Nurmagomedov, because he already sold the fight

Brent Brookhouse: Sure, Ferguson’s recent win over dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 98 was “bigger” than what Khabib Nurmagomedov did to Michael Johnson at UFC 205. A win over a former champion looks a lot better on paper than a win over someone who has often not fought up to his potential, even if Nurmagomedov beat dos Anjos back in 2014.

However, Ferguson blew his chance when he capped off his win over dos Anjos with an absolute refusal to call out McGregor. If McGregor is one thing – other than a tremendous fighter – it’s a showman. He’ll draw against anyone, sure, but seems to draw out that special something from his opponents, making for explosive promotional material. Ferguson showed an unwillingness to play the game, and that’s just not good business.

Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, made sure to remind everyone about the “chicken” tapping out against Diaz at UFC 196 while embracing the roaring boos from the Irish fans.

Ferguson has been steadily impressive and is riding a nine-fight winning streak – dating back to a loss to Johnson in May 2012 – but Nurmagomedov is unbeaten in 24 career bouts. He also represents the thing fans have always called for McGregor to face: a wrestler with a terrifying top game.

Oh, and he was also basically used as a pawn by the UFC with White stating Alvarez would make his first title defense aginst Nurmagomedov days before announcing Alvarez vs. McGegor. Nurmagomedov wasn’t afraid to call out UFC President Dana White for the “fake contract” he was sent for the bout, adding another layer or storyline for the matchup.

I’ll take the undefeated Dagestani madman battling the promotion and the brash Irishman over “that guy from ‘The Ultimate Fighter'” repeating “I’ll do my talking in the cage, and I’m here to win” every time McGregor launches a verbal assault.

Tyron Woodley, because why the hell not?

Dann Stupp: Screw it, fight fans. If McGregor wants to chase belts, let him. Give McGregor a shot at Tyron Woodley’s title next.

What’s the worst that happens – the UFC and the fighters sell a ton of pay-per-views and make a boatload of money? We get another champion-vs.-champion blockbuster event? We witness a rare superstar chasing pound-for-pound GOAT status the only legitimate way to do so?

OK, OK. The worst thing that happens is that more than a few deserving contenders – at both featherweight and lightweight – are once again left on the sidelines and missing out on their chance at a belt and a big ol’ payday. And sure, McGregor could then hijack yet another division and simply compound a problem that still hasn’t been resolved.

But in the 22-year history of the UFC, how many fighters were within sniffing distance of simultaneously holding three titles? The groundwork is in place. We’ve got our opening. And if there’s anything we’ve learned in UFC title history, it’s that timing is everything. These opportunities don’t come around every day.

McGregor wouldn’t necessarily be undersized at welterweight. Hell, take a look at his weigh-in pictures as a featherweight, and you could make an argument McGregor should be fighting at 170 pounds anyway.

Additionally, Woodley has struggled to win over fans and become one of the UFC’s more marketable fighters. Here’s his opportunity to beat the sport’s biggest star – and get all all of those McGregor haters on the T-Wood bandwagon at the same time. I doubt an immediate rematch with Stephen Thompson, whom he fought to a majority draw at UFC 205, would have the same impact.

Clearly, a number of featherweights and lightweights deserve their title shots. But don’t we all deserve an opportunity to see just how far McGregor can take this thing?

We’re in a new era. Let McGregor run wild. Until someone can stop him, I say we let him try to collect a different belt for every pair of hideously ugly trousers in his wardrobe.

Jose Aldo, because McGregor wants to keep his featherweight belt, and the division shouldn’t sit idle any longer

Justin Park: Remember when unifying the belts was a thing the UFC did? Well, let’s not forget Aldo is the interim featherweight champ.

The 145-pound strap has been collecting dust in McGregor’s closet since his 13 seconds with “Scarface” just shy of a year ago. McGregor’s had two adventures at welterweight with Diaz and one at lightweight since handing Aldo his first loss since 2005.

Yet, McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, would prefer for Conor’s next fight to be at lightweight. Oh, and no trash-talking bear-wrestlers, please.

Anthony Pettis has stumped for a McGregor matchup at featherweight, but his three-fight losing streak at lightweight before beating Charles Oliveira in his 145-pound debut isn’t compelling. A win over Max Holloway would automatically make him a legit featherweight contender, but more so than interim champ Aldo?

Aside from his ill-fated run-in with McGregor’s famed left hand, Aldo has been one of the most dominant champions the UFC has seen. Before McGregor, he was the only featherweight champ the UFC had known, defending the belt seven times, which puts him at fourth all-time behind Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva on the most-consecutive-title-defenses list.

Sure, no one wanted to see the immediate rematch after the anticlimactic KO that capped a year of one-sided fight promotion for their first matchup, but Aldo eliminated Edgar as a possibility, and Holloway is tied up with a Pettis matchup in December.

Oh, and he’s the interim champ. Call me Dana White, but I somehow just keep forgetting about that.

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Events section of the site.