Surging UFC prospect makes wild but likely future prediction about archrivals Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov coming face-to-face again

UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney has decided to play matchmaker following the news of Conor McGregor's imminent return.

Last week, Dana White dropped the bombshell that 'Notorious' would be making his long-awaited UFC return later this year. The UFC president revealed that McGregor will be coaching The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) against fellow lightweight star Michael Chandler, with the pair expected to go head-to-head sometime this year.

Reacting to the news on Twitter, McKinney mapped out the path that would see Conor McGregor go face-to-face once again with his rival Khabib Nurmagomedov. According to 'T.Wrecks', the Irishman will defeat Chandler and set up a bout with Islam Makhachev, who will be cornered by 'The Eagle':

"Hear me out. McGregor beats Chandler, Islam beats Volk. McGregor vs. Islam late '23, Khabib returns to corner Islam."

Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov's feud dates back to their infamous title bout at UFC 229. The Dublin-born fighter was returning to the octagon after boxing with Floyd Mayweather, while Nurmagomedov reigned supreme in the 155lbs division in his absence.

The fight build-up was personal, and whilst 'The Eagle' dominated McGregor in the cage, winning in the fourth round, the pay-per-view is most remembered for the mass brawl that broke out between the two fighters and their teams after the bout.

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Alexander Volkanovski confident Conor McGregor will get title shot if he defeats Michael Chandler

Whilst Alexander Volkanovski is currently preparing for his UFC 284 superfight with Islam Makhachev, the Australian also has his eyes on Conor McGregor.

'The Great' is vying to join McGregor and become just the fifth fighter to earn double-champ status this weekend. Speaking to the media ahead of his fight, the Australian gave his thoughts on 'Notorious' and his return.

Volkanovski expects McGregor to defeat Michael Chandler and line up another lightweight title shot. 'The Great' added that he hopes he's the one holding the 155lbs strap if the Irishman comes knocking:

"It’s always good to have Conor coming back to the sport. He brings a lot of eyes here and that will be a fun fight as well. I think it’s clever for both of them. Clever for Conor because he can go and fight. They’re both powerful dudes, obviously. It’s a winnable fight because they’re just going to go for it so it’s going to be entertaining, but that just puts Conor right back in the conversation for the belt."

He added:

"For people to say he wouldn’t deserve it and there’s no way they're going to do that, you’re pretty crazy, right? It’s Conor McGregor... It's good to look at because I plan on taking that lightweight belt."

Catch Volkanovski's comments here (4:30-min mark):