Conor McGregor hasn’t fought since November of last year, but the “Notorious” is still a consistent topic of conversation.
McGregor seemingly has grabbed headlines on a weekly basis due to his tie to a potential super fight with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. While fans surely would love to see the two square off, the matchup is starting to look more and more like a pipe dream.
With that said, many are wondering who McGregor’s next opponent will be when he does, in fact, return to the octagon. While there is a strong list of worthy candidates, McGregor’s coach John Kavanaugh revealed on Thursday who he’d like to see his pupil fight next.
“I’ve said it before — the Nate (Diaz) rematch interests me a lot because it’s 1-1 and (because of) how the styles match up,” Kavanagh told Submission Radio, as transcribed by FOX Sports’ Damon Martin.
If this fight were to take place, it would be the third time the two have battled. Diaz claimed the first bout with a submission victory at UFC 196, while McGregor notched a majority decision win at UFC 202.
Although this would likely be a tremendous fight, it’s widely expected, including by UFC president Dana White, that McGregor’s next opponent will be the winner of the Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov match at UFC 209 in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The fight will be for the interim lightweight title, which McGregor claimed by defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. Kavanaugh says it’s hard to imagine that the winner of Ferguson/Nurmagomedov won’t be gunning for McGregor upon his return to UFC.
“He (McGregor) did only win it a couple of months ago, so he is the lightweight champion. So I can’t imagine him not fighting the winner of that (Nurmagomedov/Ferguson). We gotta see what happens with the Mayweather talks and all that, but yeah I do believe that will happen, yes,” he said.
While there is a lot of uncertainty regarding McGregor’s future, one thing is for sure: He won’t have a shortage of suitors upon his return to action.
Thumbnail photo via Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports Images
