'Izzy vs. DDP? Nate Diaz's return?' - MMA veteran pens down stacked UFC 300 card predictions after reported absence of Conor McGregor
A veteran MMA fighter has penned down what fights he believes could take place on the UFC 300 card, with the landmark event expected to take place in April 2024. This comes amid reports that Conor McGregor might not return at the April event.
As of late, speculation surfaced that Conor McGregor could end his injury hiatus and make his long-awaited comeback, possibly against Michael Chandler, at UFC 300 in April 2024.
However, on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, McGregor's longtime head coach, John Kavanagh, has now indicated that the organization is looking to book the Irishman's return for a later date. Kavanagh implied that the world's premier MMA promotion is targeting McGregor's comeback fight for International Fight Week in July 2024.
MMA fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen took to Twitter to address the likely Conor McGregor UFC 300 absence. He posted a tweet that featured an image of a write-up wherein he gave his fight card predictions for the April event.
The retired MMA fighter suggested that the organization's prominent Muslim fighters, such as Islam Makhachev, wouldn't compete in April due to Ramadan, while its top-tier Mexican fighters would be saved for the Mexican Independence Day event in September. Sonnen wrote:
"All Muslims have Ramadan. And all top Mexican [fighters] will be saved for the Sphere."
Chael Sonnen predicted that the UFC 300 date could witness the return of former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He foresees 'The Last Stylebender' headlining the event against the winner of the upcoming title fight between middleweight champion Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis.
Sonnen further predicted Nate Diaz's comeback in the card's co-headlining matchup against Dustin Poirier. Meanwhile, he feels ex-flyweight and bantamweight kingpin Henry Cejudo could fight bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili.
Sonnen also predicted a fight between former women's bantamweight champion Julianna 'The Venezuelan Vixen' Pena and former women's flyweight champion Valentina 'Bullet' Shevchenko. He also penned down a bout between welterweight contenders Gilbert Burns and Jack Della Maddalena.
For the card's sixth bout, Chael Sonnen matched up former bantamweight champions Dominick Cruz and Petr Yan against one another.
Check out Sonnen's write-up below:
John Kavanagh on Conor McGregor potentially missing UFC 300
On the latest edition of The MMA Hour, John Kavanagh and podcast host Ariel Helwani both alluded to Conor McGregor's eagerness to return to the octagon. For his part, Kavanagh appeared to emphasize that the organization is planning to postpone McGregor's return from April to July 2024.
John Kavanagh referenced featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski's comments about inactivity taking a toll on a fighter's mental health. He highlighted that akin to Volkanovski's case, Conor McGregor's hiatus has adversely affected the Irishman's mental health. Regardless, he clarified that McGregor's been training hard, which is a good sign. Kavanagh stated:
"Yeah look and this is what I was saying to him as well, yeah ok, it's a knock back after hearing it was April. But now it's July but it's not the end of the world."
Watch Kavanagh's assessment below: