Former UFC Champion Expects Conor McGregor To Face Nate Diaz In Return Fight

Conor McGregor is almost ready to make his return to action sometime this year after a nearly one-year rehab, and a former UFC champion weighed in on who he should face first.

Daniel Cormier recently made an appearance at ESPN MMA to talk about McGregor’s return and made a case for why he should complete the trilogy with Nate Diaz.

“I know who he should fight, and I know who he probably will fight. Who he should fight is Nate Diaz… Both guys are not necessarily in the title picture right now. It’s a fun fight. We’ve seen it twice and both of them have delivered. I think it’s evenly matched, so I think he should fight Nate Diaz,” Cormier explained.

However, the ex-UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight titleholder later mentioned that McGregor is likelier to face Michael Chandler first.

“Who I believe he will fight is Michael Chandler because Michael Chandler has taken the UFC by storm. He has now had the greatest front-kick knockout of all time, he has knocked out Dan Hooker, fought for the championship, fought in a Fight of the Year fight against Justin Gaethje – so his resume is strong,” he said.

Chandler has only had four fights in his UFC career thus far, but they have all been greatly entertaining, especially the aforementioned classic with Justin Gaethje.

A potential McGregor-Chandler showdown already has legs to it after the latter called him out in the ring following his front kick knockout of the enigmatic Tony Ferguson.

“I’ve got one dude on my mind. Conor McGregor, you’ve got to come back and fight somebody! I am the most entertaining lightweight on the planet. I want you at your biggest, I want you at your baddest and I want you at your best. You and me, at 170 [pounds],” Chandler declared in his post-fight interview.

McGregor has not been on a UFC card since suffering a gruesome tibia and fibula fracture in his rubber match against Dustin Poirier back in July 2021.

He is expected to be available to fight sometime late this year, but he might not get into a mixed martial arts fight just yet so soon.

McGregor could still fight this year, though he might be enticed to do a big-money boxing bout with Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao to help him shake off the rust in his striking game while also earning as much money as possible in a single event.

Facing Diaz does make a ton of sense for McGregor’s history with the former after splitting their past two fights, but a Chandler fight also works.

The combat sports community will be eagerly waiting for McGregor’s return and who he will take on in his comeback fight.