Conor McGregor urged by fans to face Charles Oliveira on his UFC return

Conor McGregor has made it clear that he intends to move up to welterweight and try to capture a third title, which is disappointing to fans who want to see him fight Charles Oliveira next.

McGregor announced his desire to fight Kamaru Usman for the 170 pound strap in March 2022 and photos of 'The Notorious' bulking up have shown how serious he is about that plan. It's terrible timing, though, as many believe 'The Notorious' is a difficult stylistic matchup for a lightweight champion without a belt.

In a new social media post showing McGregor sparring at the Crumlim Boxing Club, fans peppered the comments calling for a McGregor vs. Oliveira fight.

Conor McGregor (Image via Instagram / Conor McGregor)

Charles Oliveira is interested in the fight, too. In a recent interview with Combate, 'do Bronx' didn't mince words, saying he wanted to fight McGregor because it was a big money fight.

“I really want a fight with McGregor in Brazil, in January. That would be really nice. Everyone knows I’m interested in that fight because of the money. But if the UFC wants me to fight Islam Makhachev next, they better put a lot of money in my bank account. The place doesn’t matter. I’m a professional, I’m the champ. Make it happen."

It's still unclear when McGregor will be able to return to action following a bad leg break injury suffered in July 2021. While the Irish sports star is back on his feet and working the pads in a boxing ring, that's still a long way from full MMA sparring which includes kicks.

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Conor McGregor gets into Twitter spat with "bend back nobody" Rafael Fiziev

Conor McGregor is clearly excited to make his return. In addition to a constant stream of training photos and videos, McGregor has been talking technique on Twitter as well.

He recently reacted to a video of Rafael Fiziev doing one of his famous Matrix-style lean-back dodges in response to a head kick. 'The Notorious' insisted the solution to that defense was an axe kick, while Fiziev disagreed.

"Conor, I invite you to Tiger Muay Thai where we can show you how to kick and defend the kicks properly so you can stop living in fantasy world where you think it’s possible to land an axe kick in this situation"

While McGregor initially agreed to train with Fiziev, he lashed out several hours later.

"No bother pal, sound. Think of me as tiger woods with a 12 iron and your nose as the golf ball. And think of me sprinting for it with a running switch kick and f*** your little bend back. You little bend back nobody b***h. Oh you bend over, wow, that’s awesome. Congrats pal haha"

Rafael Fiziev fights Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 58 in a tough battle between two top ten lightweights.