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Thanks to the serious leg injury he suffered at UFC 264, Conor McGregor’s UFC return may not be scheduled until at least midway through 2022, but when he does come back, which weight class will he fight in?
Recent pictures that have emerged of a bulked-up Conor McGregor appear to suggest that his future lies at 170 pounds. So, could ‘The Notorious’ megastar find a new lease of life in the UFC as a welterweight?
Conor McGregor has fought at welterweight three times before, going 2-1 against Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone. However, he has yet to complete an extended run in the 170-pound weight class.
That may change in 2022, but is the Irishman actually capable of succeeding at the higher weight? It’s hard to say, but there are at least a handful of beatable opponents for him in the division.
With only realistic foes taken into consideration, then, here are five beatable opponents for Conor McGregor in the UFC at welterweight.
#5. Conor McGregor vs. Matt Brown
When Conor McGregor made his big return to the UFC in early 2020, he did so as a welterweight and was matched with a fading action fighter in the form of Donald Cerrone.
In an unforgettable performance, ‘The Notorious’ quickly destroyed ‘Cowboy’, putting him away with a wild flurry of strikes in under a minute of the first round. The performance suggested that Conor McGregor was back to his best, but the truth may well have been that he simply caught Cerrone on the downswing of his UFC career, as he has not won a fight in the octagon since.
Why is this relevant here? Well, because there’s another fighter who fits a similar bill to Cerrone operating in the UFC welterweight division right now. His name? Matt Brown.
Like Cerrone, Brown has never held UFC gold during his lengthy tenure with the promotion. However, he was a stalwart of the top 10 for a long period a few years back and he’s still a reliable action fighter and a recognizable name.
However, ‘The Immortal’ is definitely past his prime now, as his losses to Carlos Condit and Miguel Baeza showed. More to the point, Brown has never been a truly durable fighter, as his UFC record of 16-6 shows. That means that Conor McGregor’s brutal striking power would definitely give him a good chance of finding a finish in a potential fight between the two.
More importantly, the fact that Brown is actually coming off a win might make this bout even more attractive to the Irishman. That's because he could easily claim to be back to his best with a victory over ‘The Immortal’, despite Brown’s prime years being behind him.
#4. Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal
On the face of it, the idea of Conor McGregor stepping up to 170 pounds to take on a fighter who has fought for the UFC welterweight title on two occasions in the past two years might sound insane.
However, a clash between ‘The Notorious’ and Jorge Masvidal might make more sense than it initially seems to. What’s more, it could actually be a winnable bout for the Irishman too.
Masvidal has been on an excellent run in the UFC, running through Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz since returning to action in early 2019.
However, nobody really knows how ‘Gamebred’ will look in his first fight back following his brutal knockout loss to Kamaru Usman. There’s every chance that the knockout has changed his career for the worse, particularly when it comes to his durability.
More to the point, unlike some of the welterweight division’s other fighters, Masvidal would be highly likely to simply stand and exchange blows with Conor McGregor, rather than look to take the Irishman down. Given that Masvidal primarily uses a boxing arsenal to win his fights, that could be music to the ears of the Dublin native.
Could Conor McGregor defeat Masvidal in a straight-up shootout? It’s hard to say, but you’d probably give him a speed and accuracy advantage in terms of his punches. That, coupled with Masvidal’s potentially compromised chin, it’d definitely give him a chance.
#3. Conor McGregor vs. Neil Magny
Neil Magny might not be the biggest star in the UFC welterweight division right now, but ‘The Haitian Sensation’ is definitely one of the best fighters in the promotion at 170 pounds.
Currently, following his May victory over Geoff Neal, Magny is ranked No.7 in the division. That means that despite his lesser name value, he could be a viable opponent for Conor McGregor.
Essentially, a win over Magny might not stand out like McGregor’s wins over Jose Aldo or Eddie Alvarez, but it’d definitely buy him a ticket directly into welterweight title contention. In fact, it could well be enough to net the Irishman a title shot.
So could ‘The Notorious’ pull off a win against Magny? It probably wouldn’t be easy. ‘The Haitian Sensation’ has a lengthy reach of 80” that he’s become highly adept at using to his advantage. He’s also a very skilled ground fighter.
However, it’s probably fair to say that he’s never quite reached the elite level in the UFC, having fallen to higher-end fighters such as Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Chiesa and Demian Maia. More importantly, Magny isn’t the most durable welterweight out there. He’s suffered a couple of bad knockouts in his UFC career and often finds himself on the deck during his fights.
That could be music to the ears of a concussive puncher like Conor McGregor. So if the Irishman could avoid the takedown attempts, this would definitely be a winnable fight for him, as well as a means to a much bigger end.
#2. Conor McGregor vs. Robbie Lawler
If Conor McGregor is to move to 170 pounds in 2022, then he will almost certainly want to fight an opponent who has a big name and reputation. He’ll also be looking for an opponent who he can beat in order to arrive in the welterweight division with a bang.
In that sense, the perfect opponent for him right now might be former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. ‘Ruthless’ ruled over the division with an iron fist from 2014 to 2016 and was part of some of the UFC’s most epic title bouts against Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit. Back then, the idea of McGregor beating him would’ve been insane.
In the years since he lost his title, though, Lawler has fallen on seriously hard times. Prior to his victory over a past-his-prime Nick Diaz in 2021, ‘Ruthless’ had lost four fights in a row and looked like a shadow of his former self.
Most importantly, Lawler’s once legendary durability appeared to be fading and in his loss to Colby Covington, he looked painfully gunshy.
If he were to fight Conor McGregor, ‘Ruthless’ might still be a dangerous foe for the Irishman. After all, punching power is the last thing to go and Lawler would likely still have enough left to knock McGregor out. However, based on his recent showings, not only is Lawler now more gunshy than he once was, he’s also a lot slower and a lot less durable in his own right.
If he could recapture his earlier form, then Conor McGregor would definitely be hopeful of being able to cut angles on Lawler before landing a bomb to put him away. Stylistically speaking, the aging ‘Ruthless’ would definitely class as a beatable opponent for ‘The Notorious’.
#1. Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz
By far the most attractive fight for Conor McGregor at welterweight from a financial point of view would be a third bout with Nate Diaz.
The two rivals famously split two fights in 2016, with Diaz stunning McGregor with a second-round submission at UFC 196, only for ‘The Notorious’ to edge out a split decision in an epic five-round rematch at UFC 202.
In the years that have followed, a trilogy clash between the two has often been spoken about, but to date, it hasn’t come to fruition.
So, could it make sense for 2022? Would Diaz be a beatable opponent for Conor McGregor at this stage?
The answer to both questions is yes. Both McGregor and Diaz are desperate for a win right now, with both men having lost their past two bouts in the octagon.
However, it’s probably not a stretch to suggest that ‘The Notorious’ might have a little more left in the tank than the Stockton native. Diaz looked out of ideas for the majority of his fight with Leon Edwards this summer and at the age of 36, he’s probably out of his athletic prime now.
More importantly, McGregor has already beaten Diaz and thus knows all of his weak points. That's most notably a penchant for eating low kicks without really defending them.
The fight definitely wouldn’t be easy, McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh even recently claimed the idea of it “gives him nightmares.” However, Diaz would definitely be beatable. If the former two-division champion could pull it off, he’d instantly be back on track and would be even richer, too.
