5 potential opponents for Conor McGregor when he returns

Conor McGregor is unquestionably the biggest draw in the sport of MMA. For years, McGregor has both broken and set pay-per-view buyrate records for the UFC. Testament to his ability to draw attention, McGregor is still being called out by some of the top fighters in the sport despite being injured and on a losing streak.

McGregor is a former two-division UFC champion and the first to hold the UFC featherweight and lightweight championships simultaneously. Although 'The Notorious' is out recovering from the injury sustained in his loss to Dustin Poirier, he continues to dominate the headlines.

McGregor has been involved in a few heated back-and-forth exchanges on social media, so he'll have no shortage of potential opponents. He is still expected to miss the first half of 2022, so the summer will be a reasonable timeframe for his return. This list will look at 5 possible opponents for Conor McGregor when he's cleared to return to the UFC octagon.

#5. Conor McGregor vs. Tony Ferguson

Kicking off this list of possible opponents for Conor McGregor when he returns is Tony Ferguson. 'El Cucuy' would be an excellent matchup to book as both he and McGregor have a long history with one another. While McGregor took a hiatus from MMA in 2017 to take on Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match, Ferguson won the interim UFC lightweight championship.

It looked like McGregor-Ferguson would take place following McGregor's boxing match with Mayweather, however, that was not the case. The Irishman was stripped of the title due to inactivity, while Ferguson was stripped of the interim title due to injury. As a result, Khabib Nurmagomedov was crowned UFC lightweight champion when he defeated Al Iaquinta at UFC 223.

Tony Ferguson wants to welcome Conor McGregor back to the octagon. 🤔

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With both McGregor and Ferguson on a losing streak, now would be the perfect time to revisit that matchup. 'El Cucuy' is still one of the most popular fighters in the sport and McGregor is still a massive pay-per-view draw.

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Both McGregor and Ferguson's respective fighting styles would make for an interesting matchup. 'The Notorious' would have an advantage in the striking exchanges, while Ferguson's unorthodox style could pose a problem for him if 'El Cucuy' is able to take the fight to the ground.