Conor McGregor is once again talking about a return to the Octagon.
After McGregor failed to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 last year, because of all things, a broken pinky toe, fans of the sport were ready to move up, finally accept the reality that we may never see ‘The Notorious’ compete again.
Unfortunately, McGregor himself has been unwilling to accept it.
Not long after declaring his candidacy for the presidency of Ireland, ‘Mystic Mac’ is now back to picking a fight with Chandler, claiming that the two still have “unfinished business” on X.
Ilia Topuria, who’s had his fair share of back-and-forths with the Irishman, doesn’t necessarily believe that McGregor wants to fight again, but he doesn’t want to end his MMA career on a losing streak either.
“I don’t think that he wants to leave the sport with a defeat,” Topuria told Joe Rogan during his appearance on the JRE podcast. “Right? I think he’s going to come back, try to get a win, and then retire in the Octagon.”
McGregor’s last win inside the Octagon came in January 2020 via a 40-second knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. He followed that up with back-to-back losses against Dustin Poirier, dropping him to 1-4 in his last five outings, including a foray into the sweet science against boxing icon Floyd Mayweather.
While Conor McGregor Teases Another Return, Topuria gears up for a shot at two-division glory
Topuria, on the other hand, is gearing up for an opportunity to become a two-division champion. After vacating the featherweight title earlier this year, ‘El Matador’ is gearing up for a shot at lightweight gold, rumored to go down at UFC 317.
In all likelihood, Topuria will challenge reigning titleholder Islam Makhachev, though there is a possibility that the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ could vacate his crown, similar to what Topuria did, to move up and challenge for the welterweight crown.
If that’s the case, Topuria couldn’t find himself going toe-to-toe with former 155-pound champ Charles Oliveira for the vacated gold.
With UFC 317 only a couple of months away, we shouldn’t be too far off from an official announcement, but either way you slice it, it sounds like Topuria will be headlining International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
