Conor McGregor is training again but his next fight is still undecided with Kamaru Usman, Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier all possible for a return to the UFC
Conor McGregor may have been on the sidelines for nearly a year, but MMA’s biggest star has stayed relevant as he talks about his comeback and fires his rivals.
The Irishman, who suffered a horrific leg injury at UFC 264 in July 2021, has just returned to training and is expected to return this summer. Who he will fight remains a mystery, but three men certainly seem to be at the forefront of McGregor’s mind.
KAMARU USMAN
During his time away from fights, McGregor has put on serious weight and now intends to make a run in the welterweight division which is currently dominated by Usman.
In an ideal world, “Notorious” wants a title fight in his first fight despite a long layoff and back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier.
“I believe Usman for the 170-pound title for my comeback is the one I’m looking at right now,” McGregor said in an interview with the MacLife recently.
“Now I haven’t really told anyone to be honest, I only think for a few days because what’s the point of cutting the weight?
“I once won the 155-pound title, I got down to a light frame, but I’m big now.
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“I feel big, I feel strong, I feel healthy, I have good energy. I’m coming back from a horrible injury. I don’t want to wear myself out, there shouldn’t be any need for me. exhaust.
Usman has all but cleaned up the 170-pound division and is currently considered the best fighter in MMA, but McGregor is unimpressed with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’.
“I feel confident against Usman,” he said. “A happy, sloppy, non-submissive orthodox wrestler. What is he going to do ? Where is the danger here? I don’t see any danger with him.
“His ground and pound isn’t strong, plus he’s on the older side. And then in addition the world is to be resumed. The triple crown.
“Nobody’s ever gotten three knockouts in three weight divisions like I’ve done before, but nobody’s ever gotten three UFC world titles in three divisions like I will too if we do this fight.”
NATE DIAZ
Another more likely opponent for McGregor’s return is Diaz.
They have fought twice and currently hold one win each ahead of a possible tiebreaker trilogy bout.
McGregor expressed interest in taking on the California native ahead of UFC 264 when he assured fight fans that he would complete his trilogy with Diaz at some point.
“It’s definitely going to happen, it has to happen,” he said. “We are one and one and this has to happen. It will happen and I look forward to that day.
Lately, Diaz has been distancing himself from the fight as he hopes to get the final fight on his contract as soon as possible in order to explore lucrative options outside of the UFC.
It’s starting to look like now or never for the trilogy fight and it certainly looks like the UFC is excited even though the two fighters are talking about different options right now.
Diaz has been calling out Dustin Poirier since the former interim lightweight champion suffered a third-round loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 in December.
DUSTIN POIRIER
Poirier also looked to fight Diaz but the UFC, for some reason, doesn’t want to match them. Maybe they’ll consider booking ‘The Diamond’ against McGregor for the fourth time instead.
After quickly stopping Poirier in their first fight in 2015, ‘Mystic Mac’ was knocked out in two rounds when the pair met at UFC 257 in 2021.
A third fight was inevitable but ended inconclusively, although some say Poirier was close to stopping McGregor again at UFC 264 before the unfortunate injury.
Immediately after his trilogy fight with Poirier, “Notorious” was determined to face him again after suffering what he called an “illegitimate” loss in reference to the doctor’s stoppage.
“Make no mistake, they’re not looking forward to what’s to come. I will come back and it will be fixed. Once and for all,” wrote on social media after the fight.
Lately, McGregor has stopped talking about Poirier and seems to have walked away from the idea of fighting him again. The only time he mentioned the Louisiana native was to make fun of him for losing to Charles Oliveira.
“Embarrassing night for him okay,” McGregor wrote on Twitter after UFC 269. “That closed guard match. Wtf that was it. Wow! Shocking.”
After months of avoiding talk of the McGregor fight, Poirier took to social media on Wednesday and suggested the fourth fight could happen next.
On the same day, his biggest rival returned to action for the first time since breaking his leg last summer. McGregor looked in fine form as he traded shots with his partner and edged closer to his return to action.
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