5 logical fights for Conor McGregor when he makes his UFC return

#2. Conor McGregor vs. Dan Hooker

Much like McGregor, this Kiwi striker is currently on a two-fight skid. At UFC 257, Michael Chandler scored a TKO win on Dan Hooker by punching him into next week. Earlier, in June 2020, Hooker fell to Dustin Poirier by way of unanimous decision in a truly epic, five-round war.

If Conor McGregor is still determined to both regain the UFC lightweight title and get some revenge on Poirier, Hooker might be the ticket. Despite his losing ways over the past year, ‘The Hangman’ has still got the number eight slot in the UFC lightweight rankings.

If the Irishman can get past Hooker and thus secure a win over a top ten contender, it will set him back on track. For McGregor to pull that off, he’s going to have to watch his bad leg as a striker like Hooker will low kick it into oblivion.

Defense and counter-striking will be the keys to victory for ‘The Notorious’ against this Auckland kickboxing menace.

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#1. Conor McGregor vs. Tony Ferguson

Is this fight too dangerous?

Tony Ferguson was long considered the boogeyman of the UFC lightweight division. A fearsome, unorthodox fighter whose training is even more painful than his fighting.

‘El Cucuy’ appeared to be on the cusp of championship greatness in the UFC for many years. Beyond a painfully brief UFC interim lightweight title reign cut short by injury, Ferguson is yet to ascend the lightweight mountain.

Between his cursed match-up with Khabib Nurmagomedov and his 11 fight win-streak getting snapped by Justin Gaethje at UFC 249, Ferguson just can’t catch a break.

He is now on a three-fight skid, having dropped unanimous decision losses to now-champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 and Beneil Dariush at UFC 262 as well. For Conor McGregor, striking a notoriously dangerous opponent while he’s down could be his ticket to collecting a major scalp.

If McGregor were to fight the TUF 13 winner, it would satisfy two major objectives he will likely have in 2022. First, it will be a big money fight between two of the lightweight division’s most colorful personalities. Second, Ferguson sits at sixth place in the lightweight title rankings. Defeating him would likely help hotshot McGregor back up the list.

As dangerous as Ferguson is, he might just be worth the risk for McGregor in 2022. A win here would likely save the Irishman’s now slightly tainted credibility and help him start moving towards the pinnacle of the sport once more.