5 UFC fighters who could face Conor McGregor for his return to the Octagon

Conor McGregor will be returning to the Octagon soon, as he announced his return to the UFC on the January 18th show.

While the schedule for UFC in January is yet to be announced, it appears certain that the January 18th show will be headlined by the returning McGregor. While McGregor has not won a fight in the company in quite some time, his history with UFC and overall notoriety makes this a much anticipated return.

During the press conference in Russia, Mcgregor announced that the show would take place in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but his opponent remained a mystery. McGregor asked the fans to question the UFC about who he would be facing in his return fight, after more than a year away from the Octagon.

While the UFC is yet to release a name, we can reasonably speculate as to who the opponent might be. In this article, we reveal five UFC fighters who could face Conor McGregor upon his return to the company.

#5 Max Holloway

Let's begin with the least likely of the five candidates.

Current UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway made a foray into the UFC Lightweight Division earlier this year, but it was a failed venture. He could not overcome Dustin Poirier, who defeated him to become the Interim Lightweight Champion.

Unfortunately for Holloway, this meant that his winning streak came to an end, but he was able to return to the Featherweight Division. Since heading there, he successfully defended his title against Frankie Edgar.

With McGregor returning, a fight against Holloway as a Lightweight would certainly qualify the 'Notorious' Irish fighter for a shot at the winner of Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Both McGregor and Holloway are top names in the UFC, and a match between the two would make for an amazing comeback for the Irish fighter.

#4 'Cowboy' Donald Cerrone

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Donald Cerrone is one of the most dependable fighters in the UFC. Although his record in the UFC is not the best, he still has 36 total wins to his name.

A loss to Tony Ferguson followed by a loss to Justin Gaethje may have knocked Cerrone down from where he used to be, but he is still a totally viable opponent for Conor McGregor. The Irish fighter has not won a single fight in the UFC since 2016. A returning fight against Cerrone would certainly prove to be a test for him as well as 'Cowboy.'

This fight that was reportedly in talks earlier in the year, but fell through because of McGregor's demands. Now, with McGregor's demands apparently met, a fight against 'Cowboy' is quite conceivable.

#3 Anthony Pettis

Anthony Pettis has been trying to make his way in the UFC Welterweight Division. However, given Pettis' history in the Lightweight Division, a return is not totally out of the question. Ranked #12 on both the UFC Lightweight and Welterweight rankings, Pettis coming back to fight Conor McGregor might be one of the best fights fans could ever hope for.

A win against Stephen Thompson saw his UFC Welterweight debut go well, but an immediate loss to Nate Diaz shut down any progress that he was making. As a former UFC Lightweight Champion, Pettis fighting Conor McGregor might be in the best interest of both fighters at the moment.

Again, whether moving down a weight class is something that Pettis can do remains up in the air. Only time will tell.

#2 Justin Gaethje

Another fight fans have been clamoring to see for some time is Conor McGregor vs Justin Gaethje. Gaethje has been working his way up the roster to fight the top names in the UFC Lightweight Division.

Currently, on a 3-win streak and ranked #4 (Conor is ranked at #3), Gaethje might be the perfect opponent to face McGregor. In his last three fights, he has defeated James Vick, Edson Barboza, and 'Cowboy' Donald Cerrone, all excellent fighters in their own right.

A win against McGregor would certainly catapult him to the stratosphere, but the Irish fighter would also gain a lot in this fight.

Gaethje is an established name in the Lightweight Division. By beating him, McGregor would cement his right to move higher up the ranks for the next fight. Whether this is the decision that UFC makes or not remains to be seen, but it is certainly the one that makes the most sense in MMA terms.

#1 Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz is currently set to face Jorge Masvidal for the BMF title, however, with the huge announcement that McGregor's return is imminent, that fight is beside the point.

The UFC has not announced a name for the Conor McGregor fight yet, and McGregor decided to not name a fighter either. This could actually be very telling. Although it's likely the UFC has a backup plan, it might just be that they have two options for the fight at the moment and they don't want to announce it before UFC 244.

If Nate Diaz were to win at the event, then he could easily face Conor McGregor in a fight for the BMF Title. This would be the exact sort of fight that McGregor would prefer and would also allow the two to finally have one of the most talked about trilogies in the UFC.

On the other hand, if Nate Diaz were to lose the fight, then Conor McGregor could fight any of the other fighters on this list, or even someone who has not been foreseen. Not announcing the name leaves options open for the UFC.

It is likely that McGregor's opponent will only be announced once UFC 244 has taken place and the UFC results have been officially determined.

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