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There has been plenty of speculation about the future of Conor McGregor since he suffered a second straight loss to Dustin 'The Diamond' Poirier,
Conor McGregor suffered a gruesome broken tibia in the fight and required surgery for it to be repaired with a titanium rod implanted onto the ankle.
This series of setbacks fuelled talk about McGregor retiring from MMA altogether.
Conor McGregor has had a history of retiring from the sport only to later make a comeback and compete with the most suitable opponent.
With that being said, we look at five opponents Conor McGregor should meet in the octagon before he retires from the octagon.
#5. Conor McGregor vs Rafael Dos Anjos
In 2016 Rafael Dos Anjos was the reigning lightweight champion on course for a mega fight against then-featherweight champion Conor McGregor.
Unfortunately, "RDA' had to pull out of the contest due to injury. Conor McGregor instead opted to fight Nate Diaz and neither man crossed paths again.
Eddie Alvarez went on to fight Dos Anjos for the belt and walked out as the champion. McGregor, after finishing his chapter with Diaz, officially challenged for the lightweight title against the Alvarez.
However, the rivalry between McGregor and Dos Anjos lives on. The two foes were spotted backstage in a confrontation picking up right where they left off at 2016.
Both combatants will benefit from this fight as they're currently two slots away from each other in the lightweight rankings. RDA currently sits at seven and Conor McGregor at nine.
#4. Conor McGregor vs Islam Makhachev
Conor McGregor's most famous, violent, and ugliest rivalry has been against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Before Khabib retired in October 2020, the Irish superstar was making it known he had come back to the UFC for a rematch against his fiercest foe.
Khabib has now become a coach to the many fighters his late father Abdul Nurmagomedov once had. A fight against his close friend and rising star pupil Islam Makhachev, who is now ranked fifth in the division, would be intriguing.
Islam, much like Khabib, is a nightmare match-up for the UFC star due to his exceptional ground skills. Conor McGregor has had to suffer from that weakness throughout his career.
But imagine if Conor McGregor was able to knockout the Dagestani prodigy; that could just be the push needed to bring Khabib back for a rematch against McGregor.
#3. Conor McGregor vs Tony Ferguson
A fight between Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson has been four years in the making. After their last couple of performances, now is the time to pair these two former lightweight champions up.
Currently both men are on losing streaks with Tony Ferguson losing his last three fights and Conor McGregor losing his previous two.
In 2017 the two were destined to meet. Ferguson defeated Kevin Lee for the interim lightweight title, while Conor McGregor left to go box against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
'El Cucuy' was stripped of the belt in the months after his title win due to a bad leg injury that sidelined him for a few months. Conor McGregor was stripped of his belt as well; it was later picked up by Khabib in a win against Al Iaquinta.
Now that both men are out to prove they have more in their respective tanks, this fight makes sense from a rankings and old rivalry standpoint.
#2. Conor McGregor vs Jorge Masvidal
The fight between Conor McGregor and Jorge 'Gamebred' Masvidal has all the makings of being an all-time classic in UFC history.
With a proper build-up and the 'BMF' belt on the line, it could be irresistible.
Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor are arguably two of the biggest stars in the UFC with styles that would guarantee a violent match-up.
Masvidal is a crafty veteran who rose to stardom in 2019. The 'BMF' champion won the Fighter of the Year award for his consecutive highlight stoppages.
During that year Conor McGregor had no fights and was seemingly retired. Now both men are on a two-fight losing streak.
The potential fight between the two stars has been talked about since late 2019 after Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz for the 'BMF' belt. Diaz is also a foe of Conor McGregor.
Though both have kept their distance and haven't acknowledged each other much, they have thrown out subliminal messages to each other on social media.
Masvidal attended Conor McGregor's win against Donald Cerrone in January 2020 hoping to be called out by the Irishman. It was there that McGregor stated: "Any one of these little mouthy fools can get it" - one of them being Masvidal.
This mega fight has dollar signs all over it and both men would absolutely put the gloves on for the right price to settle who is the true star in the UFC.
#1. Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz 3
Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor had one win against each other in their two fights back in 2016. Since then, fans have been anticipating their trilogy fight with high hopes.
Conor McGregor suffered his first UFC loss at the hands of Stockton native Diaz in a second-round submission that shocked the world.
Conor McGregor followed that up with a win against Diaz later that year by way of a controversial decision. Many thought the win should have gone to the 209 fighter.
Since 2016 they have gone back and forth on social media over the prospect of settling that score.
Conor McGregor is coming off the back of his trilogy with Dustin Poirier, losing the final two scraps. Nate Diaz has lost two of his last three scheduled fights as well.
The perfect time to make this highly-anticipated bout is now.
