Recently, the MMA world received news of the return of Conor McGregor. As such, McGregor will make his return opposite Michael Chandler at TUF 31 as a coach and then in the Octagon, later in the year. Despite his time away from the Octagon, he has been involved in all the happenings inside it.
Notably, Conor has been keeping an eye on the current lightweight champ and Khabib’s protege Islam Makhachev. Following Islam’s win against Charles Oliveira at UFC 280, Conor was quick to make his thoughts known about the fight and Islam.
Taking to Twitter, McGregor commented on Islam’s dominant submission win over Oliveira. “Nice fight. nice performance. I have built all the tools to beat this style now versus before. Experience vs. s***. Face breaking shots from clinch and baby brain batter shots from bottom. And the rest of my repertoire yous know. Steel left leg. Cannon back hand. Wrist control.” Thus, McGregor believes that he could potentially take down Makhachev in a fight.
Speaking about building tools to beat this style, The Notorious is no doubt referencing his loss against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. On the night, McGregor was unable to cope with the wrestling and grappling prowess of Nurmagomedov. However, he believes, that if presented with the opportunity, he could deal with Islam, who shares a very similar fighting style.
Conor McGregor praised Islam Makhachev after his win over Volkanovski
Most recently, Islam collected a close and controversial win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. With his lightweight title on the line, Islam was able to edge out a narrow decision against the Aussie. However, he was still unsuccessful in his quest for capturing the #1 P4P spot, amid rumors of illegal I.V. injection use.
However, the fight was one for the ages and apparently, Conor also felt the same. In a now-deleted tweet, McGregor commended Islam and Volkanovski for their performance and UFC 284 as a whole. Notably, he also stated that he would’ve liked to have fought on the night, with his former titles on the line.
Inching ever closer to his return, it seems that Conor could be eyeing a similar fight in the future. if Conor disposes of Michael Chandler later this year, Conor could potentially set his sights on Islam, in a bout for the lightweight championship. As such, UFC President Dana White would be delighted at the possibilities that could be played on.
Firstly, Conor will have to put his coaching cap back on and then dispatch Chandler in a dominant way. For fans to even have the conversation of an Islam vs Conor matchup, a lot of things would need to fall in place. However, if it does, would you be keen to watch them fight? Do you think Conor could do as he claims he can? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.