5 ONE Championship strikers who could go toe-to-toe with Conor McGregor

Former ONE Championship lightweight champ Christian Lee (left) and current lightweight king Ok Rae Yoon (right) could give Conor McGregor (center) good a challenge at either 155 or 170 pounds. (Image courtesy: @christianleemma, @thenotoriousmma and @ok_raeyoon on Instagram)
Former ONE Championship lightweight champ Christian Lee (left) and current lightweight king Ok Rae Yoon (right) could give Conor McGregor (center) good a challenge at either 155 or 170 pounds. (Image courtesy: @christianleemma, @thenotoriousmma and @ok_raeyoon on Instagram)

#4. Conor McGregor vs. Dagi Arslanaliev

Conor McGregor would definitely have problems inside the cage against Saygid Guseyn 'Dagi' Arslanaliev, considering the ONE star's most recent outing. Despite being a jiu-jitsu national champion, Dagi has evolved his game into a brawling, blood-and-gut style of striking.

Not only does he have a granite chin, Dagi also has the power to give anyone a run for their money inside the cage. Dagi's shattering power and swarming flavor of boxing are similar to Dustin Poirier, who is famous for beating McGregor twice last year.

Dagi's 2021 Fight of the Year bout against the aforementioned Nastyukhin raised a lot of eyebrows to the skill and finishing ability of the Dagestani. Considering McGregor's history with Dagestani fighters, this bout already has a story that could build hype around it.


#3. Conor McGregor vs. Thanh Le

ONE Championship's 155-pound champion Thanh Le is a knockout artist with a style similar to that of McGregor. He fights southpaw and uses fluid striking and superb distance management to pick his spots and land his fight-ending punch.

That's straight out of McGregor's playbook.

A Le versus McGregor fight has the makings of a technical chess match that would stay 100% on the feet. Exhibiting power in both hands, Le switches stances often to confuse his opponents. He also has kicks in his arsenal that have finished quite a few of his opponents.

In the past, Conor McGregor has faced elite strikers like Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier and Max Halloway. Most of them, however, are swarmers who use volume punches to end fights.

The former two-division UFC champion has not faced a technical, sniper-like striker like Le, a man who is almost mirror-like style-wise. That would make this fight very compelling to watch.

Watch Le's striking highlight reel in this YouTube video:

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