If you ask any member of Conor McGregor's loyal fanbase, they would probably tell you that he's the best thing since sliced bread. Whilst that may not necessarily be true, he is indeed one of the most lethal MMA fighters of recent times and as such, he deserves some respect.
Whilst we are more than happy to provide that, we're also happy to think up potential opponents who could knock the guy off of his perch.
Because that's one of the great things about sport- there's always someone waiting around the corner. No matter how unstoppable or invincible we perceive an athlete to be, every dog has their day and it's extremely rare in mixed martial arts that you stay unbeaten for the entirety of your career.
Obviously, not everyone is going to agree with the selections on this list, but you should be considering a number of different factors when looking into the eventual downfall of Conor McGregor. It's not like he hasn't lost before, and as a result of that nobody can say that a Conor fight is a certainty going into it.
Well, they can, but they'd be wrong. With that said, let's take a look at five logical challengers who could defeat Conor McGregor.
#1 Khabib Nurmagomedov
If you don't believe that Khabib Nurmagomedov has a serious chance of beating Conor McGregor then you're lying to yourself. The Russian is currently undefeated in the sport of mixed martial arts and has run through everyone the UFC has put in front of him.
With his upcoming fight against Tony Ferguson on the horizon, it seems likely that he'll once again make his mark inside the Octagon.
Conor hits hard and he'd definitely be able to test Khabib, but if it goes to the ground then the Irishman would certainly be in a lot of trouble. Obviously, there's a lot dependent on that happening, but Nurmagomedov is a completely different animal when compared to anyone that Conor has faced before. The Notorious One should be very afraid indeed.
Onto a man who has recently returned to the UFC.
#2 Georges St-Pierre
It's only a matter of time before Conor calls him out. Following his Welterweight debut against Nate Diaz, many have wondered whether Conor would ever fight there again. However, if a big money match-up against GSP is on the cards, then it seems all the more likely as McGregor will fancy his chances against the former champ following his time off from the sport.
Despite this, taking GSP lightly would be a big mistake.
He's already come out and said that the new GSP would defeat the old one, and people tend to forget just how good he was during his prime. Conor would really struggle with the technical nature of St-Pierre's game, and his inexperience at Welterweight, by comparison, would expose him on a number of different levels.
Did someone say trilogy?
#3 Nate Diaz
We're all dying to see it and we know you are too. Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor has quickly turned into one of MMA's greatest rivalries, and we as fans deserve to see a third and final edition of the bout.
As we all know, Diaz came out on top during their first encounter before Conor levelled the scores up at UFC 202, and now we need a decisive conclusion to this war.
Both men have stated that they'd love to go toe to toe one more time, and in terms of pay per view buys, they'd likely be through the roof if you stack this card as high as it can go. It really could go either way given the quality of both men inside the Octagon, and we'd be fully prepared to see this go another five rounds yet again.
We stay at Welterweight for this next fight.
#4 Tyron Woodley
We all know that these two guys have had a beef for quite some time, with the whole thing being based around a Twitter back and forth and a slight altercation in the lead up to UFC 205. Nonetheless, we'd absolutely love to see this fight even though we can literally only see it going one way - and that's a decisive Woodley knockout.
McGregor would be completely out of his depth against a monster like Tyron and there are no two ways about it. The Welterweight champion is an absolute beast and despite Conor winning his second fight against Diaz, it wasn't impressive enough to suggest that he could go toe to toe with a guy like Woodley for five rounds.
Don't even think about it, Mr Notorious.
To conclude, we look at a man who has already fought Conor in the past.
#5 Max Holloway
Conor McGregor has been taken to a decision twice in his UFC career. Once was against Nate Diaz, and the other was during a bout against Max Holloway. At the time Max was still quite young, and over the last few years, he's evolved to the point where he's now the interim UFC Featherweight Champion. Not bad progress, in all honesty.
He's developed one of the best chins in all of MMA and is currently preparing to face Jose Aldo at UFC 212. If he wins that fight, the potential for Conor to come back down to that weight and fight Holloway once again is huge. The story going into it would be great and we honestly believe that Max could outlast him and grind out the win this time.
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