What’s Next for Conor McGregor?

Following his defeat at the hands of Dustin Poirier at last Saturday’s UFC 257 event, Conor McGregor is now faced with an interesting future.

Conor himself has gone on record saying he wants to fight multiple times this year.

Now that statement had been made before his loss on Saturday, but he seems to still want to fight multiple times post UFC 257.

Because of the loss, Conor won’t be involved in the immediate Lightweight title picture, but there are plenty of potential fights for the Notorious this year.

Here are some potential opponents for Conor McGregor this year.

Tony Ferguson

“El Cucuy” has had a rough time for the past year. From having his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov canceled for an unprecedented fifth time due to the pandemic shutdown, to losing an interim title bout to Justin Gaethje, to losing yet another bout to a surging Charles Oliveira, Tony Ferguson will need something to kickstart a rise to the top yet again. A potential matchup with Conor McGregor makes all the sense in the world.

Firstly, and most obviously, both men are coming off of losses and need something to get them on the right track. Why not face one another in about to rise one of the two out of the losing column. Also, both men have been perennial top contenders in the Lightweight division. Therefore, it would be a shame if two of the UFC all-time great Lightweights not face off against one another.

And finally, with both men having Khabib as a bitter rival, why not face one another in the hopes that the winner could lore Khabib out of retirement.

Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler made his UFC debut in a winning effort this Saturday against top Lightweight Contender Dan Hooker. Chandler made this debut in the co-main event right before Conor lost to Poirier.

After spending his entire career up to that point outside of the UFC, Chandler has proven that he is a top contender in the UFC as well. And now that he has proven himself against a fighter in the UFC’s top six at that point, why not test his skills against a former UFC Champion in Conor McGregor. This pairing would accomplish something no matter who wins.

If Chandler wins, it instantly puts him in a position to challenge for the Lightweight Championship. If Conor wins, it springboards him right back into top contender status as well, albeit maybe needing one more win after that to contend for a title. If not Tony Ferguson or our next entry, this seems like a slam dunk for the UFC.

Nate Diaz

Why not complete the trilogy? It was considered putting Dustin Poirier on the list to complete a trilogy there, but the UFC rarely re-books fights back-to-back that end cleanly and don’t involve a long-running champion losing their title. This trilogy, however, has been on the backburner of every fight fan’s mind for some time now.

Both men have nothing to do currently, both men are coming off of losses, and both men would be open to finishing this trilogy, especially Conor. Nate Diaz won the first fight definitively, and Conor won the second in a not incredibly convincing fashion. Conor’s ego would absolutely want to put a definitive end to this trilogy once and for all. The only downside to this fight is the prospect that McGregor could lose.

If an inactive Nate Diaz would be able to defeat Conor McGregor, his star status would be fine, but his fighter status would most likely drop tremendously. No disrespect to Nate, but he was active when those two fought the two times previous. Now, Nate has not fought since November of 2019. This one could be a gamble for Conor and the UFC, but it is one the fans would eat up.

Who do you think Conor should face in his next bout?

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