When Will Conner Mcgreger Fight Again
Ranking the 4 All-time Opponents for Conor McGregor'due south Side by side Fight
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It'south difficult to believe, just it's already been over 150 days since Conor McGregor suffered a broken leg in a starting time-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
The Irishman is well on his way to recovery and already seems to be formulating comeback plans, telling his Twitter followers recently that he expects to be back to MMA sparring in April and back in the Octagon soon after.
UFC President Dana White has also contributed to the growing McGregor comeback buzz, shedding some low-cal on the onetime 2-partition champion's head infinite on a recent episode of The Jim Rome Podcast.
"He's chomping at the scrap to get back in there and compete again," White said. "For him to outset training again in Apr is probably most right."
With all the signs seemingly pointing to another McGregor fight in 2022, the big question is who he'll exist continuing across the muzzle from.
His barbarous loss to Poirier—his 2d in a row to the American—will probably continue him out of the lightweight title conversation for the moment, but he still has plenty of exciting options.
Go on scrolling for the five fights we like best for the Irishman.
Nate Diaz
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This will probably always be the biggest fight available for McGregor. Not just is Nate Diaz one of the few fighters on the UFC roster who can come close to the Irishman in terms of star power, but they're besides tied 1-1 across 2 previous fights.
The pair first met in March 2016, when Diaz replaced Rafael dos Anjos on 11 days' notice. The Stockton, California native ended up handing McGregor his showtime loss in the Octagon, winning the fight by second-round submission.
They met over again five months later when the Irishman evened the score, scraping by Diaz with a bulk decision win in one of the all-time fights in UFC history.
Today, with McGregor riding back-to-dorsum losses to Poirier and Diaz coming up short against Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal in his final two, the trilogy arguably makes more sense than ever. The UFC matchmakers have seemingly been saving information technology for a rainy day, and it doesn't get any bigger than this one.
McGregor's longtime coach, John Kavanagh, suggested as much during a recent interview with The MMA Hour (h/t MMA Fighting).
"I'll be honest, the Nate Diaz trilogy is very, very tempting," he said. "Information technology's a fight that gives me nightmares. The human being doesn't stop coming forward, whether it'southward 3 rounds or five rounds, but information technology's an intriguing fight. So that one is definitely very interesting."
Tony Ferguson
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Diaz isn't the only opponent Kavanagh likes for McGregor's next fight. The jitney as well expressed interest in a fight with former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson.
"The Tony Ferguson 1—it never happened. It was talked about a lot," he said. "And Tony still has, I believe, a lot to offer the game. He'south a very unorthodox striker, grappler. I think the buildup would exist fun for the fans."
Every bit Kavanagh stated, McGregor and Ferguson accept never shared the Octagon, which is pretty surprising because their overlapping time virtually the top of the UFC lightweight division.
In a perfect world, we would have seen them fight in 2017, when the Irish star still held the undisputed lightweight championship and Ferguson had the interim championship.
That being said, it still makes plenty of sense today, primarily because both fighters have fallen on hard times. Ferguson is indelible an even rougher patch than McGregor, with sequent losses to Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush in his rear-view.
Both lightweight legends are in dire need of a win. Pit them against each other on a summer pay-per-view, and run into if either can prove they nevertheless belong among the segmentation's tiptop fighters.
Dustin Poirier
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Dustin Poirier and McGregor have fought three times before. The Irishman won their first fight, a 2014 featherweight bout, by first-round knockout, only he lost the next 2 at lightweight by stoppage.
At this point, many people seem to consider their rivalry settled in Poirier'due south favor. McGregor and his legions of fans, of class, beg to differ.
After his third fight Poirier, McGregor was adamant that the loss was a fluke, and he made it clear he wants a fourth bout with the Louisiana native. And because he remains the biggest star in MMA history, the UFC will at least hear him out.
Poirier, of course, will need to sign on for that to happen. While he'south currently preoccupied with a lightweight title shot against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 this weekend, he's fabricated it clear his No. 1 priority will e'er be providing for his family.
If the correct offer is made, he tin surely be convinced to fight McGregor again. That volition seem all the more than probable if he comes upwards brusk confronting Oliveira this weekend.
Max Holloway
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McGregor and Max Holloway don't have the history the Irishman has with Nate Diaz or Dustin Poirier, only they have fought before.
They met in the featherweight division in 2014 when the Irishman won by unanimous determination. The contest was both conclusive and unspectacular, which would commonly make a sequel unnecessary.
What makes a rematch compelling is what both men have done since then, though.
McGregor became the first fighter in history to concur titles in two weight classes concurrently, winning the featherweight and lightweight straps. Holloway, who'southward riding dazzling wins over Yair Rodriguez and Calvin Kattar, became i of most dominant champions in featherweight history.
Both men have cemented their place among the best fighters of all time, and that'south reason enough to ready the rematch.
Yet the rematch is all the more interesting because McGregor and Holloway are in the same unusual position: Neither man has a UFC title, but they're both the biggest star in their weight grade (Holloway at featherweight, and McGregor at lightweight).
The fight would be a blockbuster and a classic reminder that there's a lot more to MMA than championship fights. And while it'southward impossible to say who would win, it would kick the all-time-boxer-in-MMA argue into overdrive.
Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2951184-ranking-the-4-best-opponents-for-conor-mcgregors-next-fight
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