Conor McGregor vs Dennis Siver set for Boston main event in January

Conor McGregor’s next opponent has today been confirmed as German Taekwondo specialist, Dennis Siver, who the Irishman will meet in the main event at Boston’s TD Garden on Sunday January 18. MMAJunkie first reported the news.

Although McGregor was chasing down a potential championship shot and looked likely to get the nod after travelling to see Jose Aldo take on Chad Mendes in Rio de Janeiro on October 25, it would appear that the UFC would like to see the SBG man pass another test before putting him in the title conversation.

McGregor has often poked fun at Siver who he described as a “midget, German, steroid-head”, at a press conference in the lead up to his 106 second knockout of Dustin Poirier at UFC 178, but his insults became more specific to the German in mid-October.

After the Republic of Ireland held soccer world champions Germany to a draw on October 13, McGregor fired a social media bullet at Siver:

“Someone grab that World Cup quick. @DennisSiver we whooped you pussies on home soil. Like Id whoop you on any soil you little German midget.” In the following days a video was released by Kammakaze TV in which Siver claimed that he would knock McGregor out if they were to face each other.

Fans of McGregor might be puzzled with the matchup that pits the number 5 ranked Dubliner against Siver, currently ranked tenth in the promotional rankings, but the classic Taekwondo background of the German might pose the most refined striking challenge ‘The Notorious’ has faced to date.

With eleven UFC wins under his belt, Siver has taken some notable scalps under the world’s flagship MMA promotion including veterans Spencer Fisher and George Sotiropoulos. Having moved down to featherweight in 2012, Siver has gone 3-1-1 with his only loss coming to title contender Cub Swanson.

Siver has claimed victories over Diego Nunes, Nam Phan and Charles Rosa at 145 lbs but had his decision win over Manny Gamburyan from December 2013 overturned to a no contest after testing positive for an illegal substance.

Also on the card, Norman Parke faces Jorge Masvidal and former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson takes on Eddie Alvarez in the co-main event.

Tickets for UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver go on sale on Thursday, November 20.

@PetesyCarroll