Conor McGregor tipped to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov protege lslam Makhachev next

According to former UFC light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, Conor McGregor should face current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in his comeback fight.

McGregor has been out of action since July 2021 when he suffered a broken leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier. However, he recently returned to the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (Usada) testing pool, indicating a potential comeback in January.

Initially, McGregor was set to fight Michael Chandler, but their bout has faced several delays. Cormier believes that McGregor should bypass Chandler and take on Makhachev, who is the protege of McGregor’s long-time rival Khabib Nurmagomedov and the current 155lbs champion.

“I think Islam should fight Conor McGregor next,” said Cormier. “It’s the biggest money fight the UFC could make. You have Islam, who looks to be a dominant champion, and in order to elevate him to superstardom, you need a guy like Conor McGregor.

“Beating McGregor has done wonders for fighters like Poirier and Nurmagomedov. Plus, there’s the narrative of McGregor’s history with Khabib and everything else. It just makes sense to have Islam fight Conor, the biggest star in mixed martial arts returning to the UFC. It makes all the sense in the world.”

Makhachev recently defended his lightweight title with a first-round head-kick knockout against Alexander Volkanovski. Despite already establishing himself as one of the sport’s best, Cormier believes a fight against McGregor would elevate Makhachev’s stardom even further.

“This is a no-lose situation,” Cormier added. “If Islam wins, he becomes another Khabib Nurmagomedov in terms of star power. And if Conor wins and beats the unbeatable Islam Makhachev, it only solidifies his position as the champion and biggest star in the UFC.”

Khabib submitted McGregor in 2018, settling their bitter feud. After the fight, Khabib infamously jumped out of the Octagon to attack McGregor’s teammates.