In 2023, the UFC is expecting their biggest star to return. Conor McGregor (22-6) is expecting to make his return to the octagon likely over the summer. We haven’t seen McGregor inside the octagon since July of 2021 when he broke his leg in the trilogy against Dustin Poirier.
Despite being out of action for two years and having been very inactive over the past few years, Conor McGregor is still the biggest star in the sport. He’s their cash cow and his return will likely mark the UFC’s return to PPVs with over a million buys.
McGregor posted on Instagram yesterday that the UFC has offered him a coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter. TUF is expected to film sometime this spring. McGregor has been a coach before opposite Urijah Faber. If McGregor does end up coaching, who will be his opposing coach.
UFC Coaching Options
There are two clear-cut options for the UFC. In talking with a few folks who are closer to the promotion, there are a couple of preferred options for McGregor’s next opponent and both would be sensational options to coach against him in The Ultimate Fighter.
From what I’ve gathered, the leading candidate is likely former lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler (23-8). Chandler is coming off a submission loss against Dustin Poirier. Since making his debut with the promotion, he has wanted the Conor McGregor fight more than anything.
This would is a very logical move for all parties involved. There are also whispers about potentially Jorge Masvidal (35-16) being the opposing coach. Gamebred hasn’t fought since his loss to Colby Covington last March. He tweeted out today that he has big fight news coming soon.
It’s worth pointing out that McGregor hasn’t signed on to be a coach just yet. The offer is supposedly out there and it’ll be interesting to see who coaches against him if it happens.