The wheels appear to be in motion for Conor McGregor’s long awaited return to the UFC, though it seems that for the time being it may be another run as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter reality show that comes to fruition first.
“This is a snap from the original ultimate fighter house. Where I coached vs urijah faber,” McGregor wrote on Instagram. “This photo was just before the show tho. It was right before I won my first world title beating urijah team mate chad mendes around. I then went on to coach the famous fight show straight after the fight. With a big black eye and a gash, my tricolor, and my new and first ever ufc gold belt, I waltzed into the notorious fight gym in Las Vegas. The slickest suits and shouts the show had ever seen before. On top of the silverware. And I coached my team to victory. Crazy. Some journey.
“I have just been offered to coach this role again. I like it. It is full immersion which is needed.I see fighters lining up.I know whats ahead I been ready motherf*ckers. #stayready”
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Dana White has since reposted McGregor’s comments, suggesting that this is the direction the UFC is heading to welcome back ‘The Notorious’ to the fold after his long spell on the sidelines since suffering a broken leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 back in July of 2021.
At this stage there’s no indication of who he would be coaching opposite on TUF, but there’s certainly no shortage of potential opponents who would grab that opportunity with both hands.
McGregor’s long-time coach John Kavanagh rifled mentioned several possibilities for his comeback fight during an interview on The MMA Hour earlier this week, while suggesting that the key was to find someone who ‘The Notorious’ would be motivated and excited to go up against.
“You’ve got the great Nate Diaz is obviously in there,” Kavanagh said. “Justin Gaethje would be a very interesting matchup, somebody he hasn’t fought before. The [Dustin] Poirier fight, we’ve done that so many times at this stage and it’s just a weird one. Michael Chandler, a great fighter, a great athlete. They’re all brilliant. They’re all going to bring something different to the contest.
“What I would be looking for would be the one name that gets Conor moving. Gets him off his stool, gets him moving around and gets him excited. Some of the names I’ve heard him mention it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I’d fight him,’ but if I see that level of lack of interest, I’d be nervous that won’t get him through 12 weeks of being in a very tough environment where if it’s a name that is exciting then training is fun and training is easy.”
