Former UFC lightweight champion reacts to the idea of coaching opposite Conor McGregor on TUF

Conor McGregor recently suggested that his return in 2023 may come in the form of coaching in The Ultimate Fighter again.

Rafael dos Anjos, a rival of McGregor's and former UFC lightweight champion, has now shared his thoughts on standing across from 'The Notorious' on the promotion's reality series.

On Twitter, a fan tagged both McGregor and dos Anjos, suggesting the Brazilian should be the one coaching opposite the former champ-champ:

"Make Conor fight RDA. Let RDA coach TUF. He has paid his dues to the sport and there is a storyline. Europe vs Brazil themed TUF. Then they fight each other at 170."

Rafael dos Anjos' reply seems to indicate that he is interested in doing so:

Dos Anjos and Conor McGregor were scheduled to fight when the Brazilian was still the lightweight champion and McGregor was the featherweight king in 2016. But dos Anjos was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury.

The pair were later involved in an incident in 2021, when 'The Notorious' fought Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. During a verbal back and forth ahead of the event, McGregor can be heard referencing their scheduled title fight in 2016 by shouting:

"You bottled it mate, you bottled it with a sore f***ing toe. Don't ever forget it you little rat."

Watch the video below:

The bad blood that arose in 2016 appears to be lingering in the air, as the pair almost came to blows at the UFC Apex. The Brazilian still appears eager to settle the score.

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'Big' John McCarthy is skeptical of Conor McGregor's ambition to fight again

'Big' John McCarthy is one of the founding fathers of MMA and arguably the best referee in the history of the sport.

McCarthy now works as a commentator for Bellator MMA and is the co-host of the Weighing In podcast with former Strikeforce champion and UFC fighter Josh Thomson.

During a recent episode of the podcast, McCarthy called Conor McGregor's fighting ambition into question, as the pair discussed his much anticipated return.

'The Notorious' suffered a devastating leg injury against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 and has been in recovery ever since. But the Irishman is rumored to be returning this year.

On that, John McCarthy said the following:

"I don't think Conor McGregor truly wants to fight anymore... It's not like money is a problem, and when you look back at getting yourself back into the gym and fighting, training for the fight... it's fun to go in the gym when it's not training. That's not what a training camp is, a training camp sucks. When you don't have that 100% focus, things don't go well for you."

Watch the episode below: