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#4. Nate Diaz - UFC welterweight
Nate Diaz is one of the most popular stars in the UFC right now and his fights always attract eyeballs across the globe. But with just one fight remaining on his contract and the Stockton native seemingly reluctant to extend it further, it seems like he's close to the end of his career as a professional fighter.
Diaz has also been linked with a potential crossover boxing match with Jake Paul down the line. The 36-year-old previously expressed interest in a potential clash with Paul and it seems like a smart move for him going forward. The southpaw has lost three out of his last four fights and surely doesn't have title ambitions at the moment.
With just one fight left on his contract, Nate Diaz will be looking to go out with a bang for sure. With Conor McGregor expected to return next summer, we may see Diaz settle his rivalry with the Irishman in a trilogy fight before he calls time on his career.
#3. Conor McGregor - UFC lightweight
If there's one man in the UFC who definitely doesn't need to continue fighting for the sake of money, it has to be Conor McGregor. The former two-division UFC champion has been the highest paid fighter in the promotion for a while now. He's the only MMA fighter to bag a $100 million payday for boxing Floyd Mayweather.
Earlier this year, McGregor sold a majority stake in his Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey brand to Proximo Spirits for a whopping $600 million. Thanks to that and several other ventures, he earned top spot on Forbes' highest-paid athletes list. So money definitely isn't the driving factor behind McGregor's decision to continue fighting anymore.
McGregor does have the hunger and motivation to become a world champion again. But the question remains, is he still good enough?
Earlier this year, Conor McGregor stepped inside the octagon twice, once in January and then again in July. On both occasions, he tasted bitter defeats at the hands of a man he'd beaten in the past. At UFC 257, McGregor tasted his first-ever knockout loss at the hands of Dustin Poirier.
At UFC 264, the Irishman suffered a clean break of his tibia and fibula, which put him on the sidelines for the remainder of the year. McGregor is still recovering from the injury and hasn't started MMA training yet. He is expected to return sometime in 2022.
While his fans would love to see the Irishman back inside the cage, will he ever be the same fighter again? His movement is likely to be slower than in the past and his opponents will be looking to cause further damage to the leg in fights.
McGregor was knocked out back in January and took a lot of punishment against Poirier in their trilogy fight before breaking his leg. One has to wonder if his chin can continue to sustain such severe damage going forward.
With back-to-back losses in 2021, McGregor is starting to lose some of that aura that propelled him to superstardom in the first place. Another loss upon his imminent return, if there is one, could probably be the end of his career as a professional fighter.
