John Kavanagh has named six opponents that his star pupil Conor McGregor could fight in his highly anticipated UFC return.
McGregor (22-6 MMA) has not competed since suffering a broken leg during his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier this past July. That setback marked the Irishman’s second loss in a row and third in his past four fights overall.
Now back to full mobility, Conor McGregor recently shared some photos of his current physique (see those here) that got the whole fight world talking. The Irishman is currently walking at a bulked up 190lbs of what he calls “solid granite”, and is planning a summer 2022 return to the cage.
Following the news of his star pupils comeback, SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh made an appearance on The MMA Hour where he revealed six potential opponents for McGregor’s return.
“I’ll be honest, the Nate Diaz trilogy is very, very tempting. It’s a fight that gives me nightmares. The man doesn’t stop coming forward. Whether it’s three rounds or five rounds. But it’s an intriguing fight. So, that one is definitely very interesting,” Kavanagh said of a potential third fight between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. “But also the Tony Ferguson one. It never happened. It was talked about a lot. Tony still has, I believe, a lot to offer the game. He’s a very unorthodox striker, grappler. I think the build-up would be fun for the fans. So, you know, any of those kind of legacy guys.”
John Kavanagh continued on possible opponent for Conor McGregor’s next fight:
“But, look, that division is killer. You know, Dan Hooker’s in there. The Islam (Makhachev) fight would be amazing as well, for obvious reasons. And we have, you know, whoever’s going to win this belt (Charles Oliveira or Dustin Poirier). So, you know, look, any of those names. I’m just excited to see Conor back.”
Of the six names listed by Kavanagh (Nate Diaz, Tony Ferguson, Dan Hooker, Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira), who would you like to see Conor McGregor fight in his UFC return?