Getty Conor McGregor waits for the start of his welterweight rematch against Nate Diaz.
UFC superstar Conor McGregor seemingly confirmed a move to welterweight for his comeback.
The former two-division champion has been on the sidelines since his last outing against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in Jul. 2021. Poirier came out on top of the contest after McGregor broke his leg. He needed to undergo surgery for the injury and spent the last year and a half in recovery.
While a concrete timeline for his return has not yet been provided, McGregor teased that he would come back to fight at welterweight in response to a user on Twitter.
“WW next?” asked the fan.
McGregor responded, “Definitely.”
‘The Notorious’ had previously expressed a desire to challenge the former pound-for-pound king and 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman, who was willing to entertain the idea but remained doubtful if it would happen.
“Myself versus Usman for the 170-pound title in my comeback fight is the one I’m eyeballing at the minute,” McGregor said via ESPN. “MacLife.” “Why cut the weight? I’ve already won the 155-pound title. I got myself to a lightweight frame, but you know, I’m big now. I feel big. I feel strong. I feel healthy. I’ve got good energy. I’m coming back from a gruesome injury. I don’t want to be depleting myself. There should be no need to deplete myself.
“And I feel confident against Usman — a jab-happy, sloppy, orthodox wrestler with no submissions whatsoever. What’s he going to do? Where’s the danger here? I don’t see danger. … No one has ever obtained three titles in three divisions like I will do if we make this fight.”
McGregor’s plans may require change after Usman got dethroned by Leon Edwards, who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the promotion in August at UFC 278.
McGregor’s comeback will be the ‘greatest in sports history’
McGregor’s manager Audie Attar recently shared his thoughts on the return of the Irish icon, which he believes will be the ‘greatest comeback in sports history.’
“First and foremost, he loves this sport,” Attar told MMA Junkie. “I think that’s the one thing that’s very special about him. It’s why it’s allowed him to reach a level of success that most fighters aspire to achieve. He loves it. The second part is he’s a competitor.
“Does he have more ambitions and goals that he wants to achieve? Absolutely. I think that’s what makes it so special and so intriguing and it’s going to be an interesting story, and I do believe it’s going to be the greatest comeback in sports history.”
Attar Believes McGregor Can Get Any Fight He Wants
As the biggest draw in the sport, ‘The Notorious’ is a lucrative opponent for any fighter on the roster. Lightweight top contender Charles Oliveira, who is set to clash with Islam Makhachev for the title at UFC 280 next month, has been rallying for a bout with McGregor despite the time away from competition.
Attar believes McGregor still has the star power to get any fight he wants.
“I mean, Conor said it best: It’s red panty night when you fight him,” Attar said. “So at the end of the day, I don’t think it’s changed. The color of the panties haven’t changed. So ultimately, I think a lot of the fighters want that. They want that payday, but they also want that experience to be able to say that they fought Conor McGregor. They all aspire to win that fight, and so that’s a normal thing. I don’t think anybody’s shocked by that.”