Conor McGregor is widely expected to return to the Octagon for another fight with the UFC once 2018 arrives, rather than have another boxing match like he did during the summer with Floyd Mayweather.Notorious hasn't competed in the UFC since November 2016 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship with a second-round TKO in the main event of UFC 205.The man himself has said that his next fight will be in the sport of MMA, rather than boxing. He said he wants to have a 'real fight' next, which he classes as an MMA fight inside the Octagon with UFC, rather than boxing in a ring.There are plenty of fights on the table for McGregor once he decides to return due to the fact he's one of the biggest names in the sporting world right now, so any fighter that steps into the Octagon with him is bound to receive big money.However, the Irishman has stated he will only fight on his terms, meaning it could still be some time before we see him inside the Octagon again, depending on how well talks go between himself and the UFC. Until then, we can only speculate on who he might be fighting in 2018, so with that in mind, here are three UFC fighters who could be fighting against Conor McGregor in 2018.

Tony Ferguson

Out of the three fighters on this list, Ton Ferguson probably has the best chance of fighting against McGregor, as this would be a UFC Lightweight Championship unification fight as Ferguson currently holds the interim UFC Lightweight title.

El Cucuy has been interim lightweight champion ever since he defeated Kevin Lee at UFC 216 in October 2017, which also set a new record for most consecutive wins in UFC lightweight division history with 10. He's widely regarded by pundits as one of the best lightweights in the history of the promotion.

UFC president Dana White has said that this fight has to happen, and McGregor has teased the bout possibly happening too, so hopefully, it takes place sooner rather than later. UFC 222 on March 3 could be a good spot for this fight, as the pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is yet to be given a main event fight.

Nate Diaz

For the past year and a half, another fight between McGregor and Nate Diaz has been discussed amongst UFC fans in order to complete the trilogy and ultimately decided who is the better fighter out of the two.

Diaz won the first clash between the two at UFC 196 in March 2016 with a rear-naked choke submission in the second round, while McGregor won the rematch five months later in August via majority decision. Both fights took place at welterweight.

If this fight is to happen, it will likely take place after the lightweight title unification fight, so depending on the result of that clash, the third meeting between McGregor and Diaz could take place at either lightweight or welterweight. The American has fought at lightweight before.

Georges St-Pierre

While out of the three listed this fight might have the least likely chance of actually happening, McGregor vs Georges St-Pierre does, in fact, have the biggest appeal since it would be classed as a mega-fight and probably the biggest fight in UFC history.

Back in November, Rush made his UFC return after almost four years away from the promotion, defeating Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 217 to become UFC Middleweight Champion. However, after holding the middleweight title for 31 days, he announced that he had been suffering from ulcerative colitis, meaning he had to vacate the title.

If White allows GSP to fight with UFC again, it will most likely be at welterweight, which opens the door for a fight against McGregor, as the Irishman has fought at that weight before in his bouts against Diaz.

This mega-fight has the potential to generate a lot of money for UFC too, which could be enough to persuade White to make this fight happen. However, many fans don't like mega-fights as they go against the original structure of UFC.