It’s been more than six months since we’ve seen the UFC’s biggest star in a fight, and everybody is tired of waiting for him. His fight against Floyd Mayweather was extremely beneficial to the sport of MMA, but it’s been too long of a layoff since even that fight for “The Notorious,” so I expect him to try to book a fight any time now. Who should he choose to give a million dollar payday to next? I have a few suggestions.
1. Tony Ferguson
Tony Ferguson is the most likely candidate for Conor McGregor’s return, considering he has his belt- in a way. Ferguson is the Interim Lightweight champion, but is defending the undisputed Lightweight belt against Khabib Nurmagomedov in March. Confusing, right? This pretty much means that Conor isn’t stripped of his title yet, but will be before this fight happens. Meaning, what better fight for his return than the person that holds his belt? I have Ferguson winning the Khabib fight, and if he does, that just builds him up for a money fight against McGregor even more. Besides, what’s the bigger pay-per-view? Conor McGregor defending his belt against Tony Ferguson, or Conor McGregor returns against the man that stole his belt? I know what I would rather see.
2. Manny Pacquiao
If Conor McGregor decides that he wants to make some more money at the expense of boxing fans, then “Pac-Man” is the fight to make. Pacquiao is seen as one of the greatest modern boxers, and just like Floyd Mayweather, could attract people to the fight that wouldn’t want to see it just for McGregor. There were already rumors being spread that the fight was in the works, but it seems that is was just Pacquiao and his camp campaigning for the fight, and nothing came of it. However, it seemed that everyone wanted this fight to materialize, and why shouldn’t it now? Despite Conor McGregor being 0-1 in boxing, he lost to arguably the greatest boxer of all time, and Pacquiao also lost to Mayweather in their 2015 money fight. If McGregor were to ever box again, this would be the match I would make, and I think it’s honestly more likely than him returning to MMA.
3. Khabib Nurmagomedov
There are a couple of circumstances that could cause this fight to happen. The most likely is that Khabib beats Tony Ferguson and becomes champion, in which case Conor McGregor would get the first crack at him. The other would be, and this is what I personally think will happen, that McGregor returns and defeats Ferguson for the belt, and then defends it against “The Eagle.” Whether he would be coming off of a loss or not, Khabib is an absolute monster inside the Octagon, and this is a fight that everyone would want to see. Make them fight in Russia, stack the pay-per-view card, and it would be bound to break records.
4. Nate Diaz
Whether or not there are belts involved, and whether or not this is Conor’s next fight, this trilogy is happening. I don’t care if it happens in Bellator when both fighters are in their forties, it will happen. This could be the only fight to pull McGregor back into MMA, as Nate Diaz is the only person to ever best him inside the UFC. Having this headliner on a pay-per-view stacked with title fights and fan favorites could generate numbers the UFC hasn’t dreamed of seeing yet, and since the promotion is focused more on entertainment than fights that make the most sense, I see it happening within the next two years.
5. Tyron Woodley
He’s already held the Lightweight belt, he’s already held the Featherweight belt, so there’s only one belt for him to go after now. Tyron Woodley holds that belt. McGregor has fought at Welterweight twice against the aforementioned Nate Diaz, and while he doesn’t have to cut any weight to make the division, he can still compete comfortably at that weight. This is an interesting matchup because the casual fan would just assume that Conor McGregor is going to wipe the floor with this guy they’ve never heard of, but Tyron Woodley is a beast. His last two fights were completely lackluster, don’t get me wrong, but he has one punch knockout power, world class wrestling and cardio for days. Conor might want that belt, but fighting Tyron Woodley might not be a good idea no matter how much money they would both make.
6. Max Holloway
Does this fight make sense? Conor would have a cut a bunch of weight to go back down to his debut division, and he already beat Max Holloway once before. In that fight, it went to a three round decision where McGregor won due to his wrestling ability. Yes, I said wrestling. How could Conor McGregor beat the monster Max Holloway has become? He has submissions, takedown defense, takedowns of his own and a striking game that can generate highlight reel knockouts. Conor needs to win both of his belts back to redeem himself in the eyes of most fans, and this is where he could start. Win this belt, defend it at least once, and then go back after his other belt. That is, if he can win this belt.
7. Georges St. Pierre
If you’re making fights based on entertainment value, then this makes the most sense. Conor McGregor versus arguably the greatest fighter of all time. There are so many variables that could make this fight happen, too. If Conor wins either the Lightweight or Welterweight belts back, who would he be willing to defend against? Chances are he won’t take a fight against the rightful top contender, so the UFC is going to give him any fight he says he wants, just so he will actually have a title defense. He will say GSP eventually, there’s no way around it. Will this fight happen if neither man has a belt? Of course it will, it will headline a pay-per-view all the same, and everyone will tune in to watch it.
8. Frankie Edgar 
It just recently surfaced that Conor McGregor offered to step in against Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, but the UFC couldn’t generate enough money in such a short amount of time to pay him his worth. That is a damn shame. In a perfect world, Conor McGregor would have already defended a belt against Frankie Edgar, but of course he chased the money fight. In my opinion, he has to beat Edgar for his legacy. If Conor ever gets the Featherweight belt back, or if Edgar gets the strap himself, this fight has to happen. McGregor would have finally beaten a top contender that everyone expects, and would no longer be mocked by everyone for being a money fighter and not a true sportsman.
9. Oscar De La Hoya
Conor fancies himself a boxer now, and in doing so, old legends like De La Hoya have been calling his name. The retired former champion has made it clear that he would come out of retirement for a money fight with McGregor, and why shouldn’t it happen? Sure, Oscar De La Hoya is past his prime and close to 50 years old, but it’s boxing. What are the odds that he gets knocked out wearing 10 ounce gloves? Slim, at least against McGregor. If Conor had landed one punch on Floyd Mayweather in MMA gloves, he would have gone to sleep. However, he doesn’t seem to have the same power in a boxing glove. Let them fight, let them both make millions of dollars, and let the fans suffer through a lackluster boxing match. At the end of the day, they both get to say they did it.
10. Nick Diaz
The only reason for Conor not to fight Nick Diaz is if he’s scared, homie. He’s one and one with his brother Nate, and after that has trilogy has happened, you had better believe that Nick Diaz wants in on the action. If Conor takes the rubber match, then Nick Diaz will come looking for revenge, and if Nate takes it, then Nick will look to capitalize on his success. This fight makes no sense, I’ll say that right now, and that’s why it’s probably going to happen. It will generate a ridiculous amount of money, and no matter who wins, there will be a rematch.