Conor McGregor Next Fight: Floyd Mayweather, Nate Diaz, Khabib Nurmagomedov Are Potential Opponents In 2017

Despite the obstacles that stand in the way of making a boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather a reality, some people in the world of combat sports believe the fight will happen. A week after Hall-of-Fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach said he expected the fight to take place, McGregor’s own coach expressed a similar sentiment.

John Kavanagh, McGregor’s long-time coach, said he doesn’t know the details of any negotiations, but he thinks the UFC star will face Mayweather in a super-fight.

“It seems like it’s coming,” Kavanagh said on “Submission Radio.” “When or how definite, I don’t know, but it’s looking more likely. And the two guys seem to want it and they’re making moves towards it, but I won’t lie, I don’t know is the short answer. There seems to be a lot of steps to get over with various commissions involved and different promotions involved and so on and so forth, but it’s a fight that’s getting more and more momentum every day and more and more people want to see it. So if you ask just me, my personal uneducated opinion on it, I would say that I believe it’s gonna happen.”

McGregor has said that he’d make the transition from MMA to boxing, and Mayweather is willing to come out of retirement for the fight. The boxer told the BBC Thursday that he’s waiting for McGregor to accept his offer, though the UFC lightweight champion wants more money than Mayweather is willing to give him.

If McGregor and Mayweather do come to an agreement, Kavanagh expects his fighter to return to MMA and defend his UFC lightweight championship. McGregor won the belt with a second-round knockout of Eddie Alvarez on Nov. 12, becoming the first-ever fighter to hold two UFC titles simultaneously. He has since been stripped of his featherweight championship, but there are a few potential challengers for his 155-pound title.

Since McGregor beat Nate Diaz in a rematch at UFC 202, it’s inevitable that they will eventually have one more fight. McGregor could also face the winner of Saturday’s UFC 209 co-main event. The interim lightweight championship will be on the line between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

“I’ve said it before — the Nate [Diaz] rematch interests me a lot because it’s 1-1 and how the styles match up,” Kavanagh said. “Almost on a par with that, not much difference, will be the winner of Khabib and [Tony] Ferguson this weekend. I think Khabib does it, so I think Khabib will be the winner. So Khabib will be the match up out of that.”

No matter whom McGregor fights next, it likely won’t be until the latter part of 2017. He hasn’t been inside the octagon since he won the lightweight title, and he might not fight again until September because of the impending birth of his child.

Kavanagh also mentioned Georges St-Pierre as an opponent he’d like to see McGregor face. St-Pierre was the UFC welterweight champion in 2013 before vacating the title, and McGregor fought at 170 pounds twice in 2016. St-Pierre is set to make his return in 2017, but he’ll be fighting for Michael Bisping’s UFC middleweight championship.

It's been four months since McGregor's last fight. Since defeating Diego Brandao on July 19, 2014, McGregor has never gone more than six months between fights.