Upon his return from injury, Conor McGregor may have more than one option at his disposal.
Following his first-round knockout of Donald Cerrone back in January 2020, McGregor has found himself on a two-fight losing skid, suffering back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier.
After a freak accident cut the Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier trilogy short—and due to their post-fight antics—it is widely expected that, when the “Notorious” does eventually make his comeback, the fourth fight in the series with Poirier could be atop his list.
But today, we are going to explain why Dustin Poirier is just one of many options awaiting Conor McGregor, both inside and outside of the Octagon, following his lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The Nate Diaz Trilogy Fight
Ever since Conor got his hand raised in the rematch with Nate Diaz, MMA fans worldwide have been eagerly waiting for the trilogy between the two stars.
With Nate arguably at the heights of his popularity, there is no better time for the pair to run it back once McGregor returns from injury. The Cesar Gracie black belt serves as the perfect comeback matchup for Conor McGregor. Just like in their previous two meetings, the fight should mostly be kept on the feet—a place where Conor excels.
According to Tapology, the McGregor Diaz pay-per-views sold an estimated 1.31 million and 1.6 million respectively, but we expect that to be blown out of the water if a trilogy does eventually take place.
A Tony Ferguson Dream Fight
Although “El Cucuy” is still searching for his first win since 2019, we believe he would be an ideal return fight for Conor McGregor.
Despite collecting zero wins in his last three outings, Tony Ferguson is widely considered to be one of the most popular fighters contracted to the UFC, and no matter the opponent, you always know he’ll fight until the final bell. His awkward style may be tough for McGregor to handle early on, but fans would be expecting nothing less than fireworks if the two lightweights faced off.
Any card headlined by these two would be sure to sell, and with a combined 40 finishes on their records, we can expect both McGregor and Ferguson to be looking to end the fight early.
Another Venture Into Boxing
In an attempt to gain some in-ring experience while not having to worry about the other aspects of MMA, a return to boxing could be high on the Irishman’s list.
While big names like Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez may not be in his best interests, the possibility of a Floyd Mayweather rematch could be the most fitting for Conor McGregor—both in terms of money and fight style—as we believe he has much less of a chance of suffering a knockout loss.
Ultimately, a boxing bout would make a lot of sense, giving him time to shake off any potential ring rust he may have endured during his time away from competition.
Other Possible Options
A Rematch With Max Holloway – Since being on the losing side in his fight with McGregor back in 2013, Max Holloway has gone from strength to strength—going on a 13-fight win streak and picking up the featherweight title in the process.
As he has claimed in the past, Holloway will embrace a move up to 155lb in the future and the rematch with Conor McGregor could well be his welcome into the division.
A Rematch With José Aldo – Though their first fight was quite decisive, José Aldo is currently on a two-fight win streak and looked better than ever during his UD victory over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 265.
The pair have seemingly settled their differences and shared nice words between one another in recent times, but the chance for revenge for Aldo and the chance for McGregor to prove his 13-second knockout wasn’t a fluke could well see these two be matched up once again.
Other Contenders At Lightweight – The lightweight division is as stacked as ever, and despite us not knowing how the title picture will look once McGregor is cleared to return, the competitor inside the ex-two-division champ could well see him test himself against a number of top 10 fighters before campaigning for a title shot.
The likes of Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler, Dan Hooker, Rafael Dos Anjos, Beneil Dariush, and Islam Makhachev all currently sit above #9-ranked Conor McGregor, and each of them will want a piece of The Mac when he finally returns.
What do you expect Conor McGregor to do once he returns from injury?
