Conor McGregor has teased his next fight - and it involves an opponent and venue that few would have expected.

The Irishman (22-4) has been very vocal about the fact that he wants to be as active as possible in 2020, revealing that he sees this calendar year as almost somewhat of a "season".

McGregor's intention to fight so often no doubt means that he is constantly scouting new opponents, and he may have found his next one.

Fans were, however, still taken aback on Saturday night when McGregor took to Twitter to seemingly call for a fight with UFC veteran Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez. 

Sanchez (30-12) claimed a disqualification victory over Michel Pereira in the co-main event of UFC Rio Rancho this weekend - but was losing the fight handily before Pereira threw an illegal knee strike in the third round which led to the bout being stopped.

Shortly following Sanchez's controversial win, McGregor was quick to react on the social platform, simply posting: "Conor McGregor Vs Diego Sanchez".

The pair have had a long-standing rivalry over the years, but McGregor's suggestion of a fight with the 38-year-old Sanchez still appeared to be a little tongue-in-cheek. The Albuquerque native has consistently faced calls to retire over the last few years, with many believing that his best days as a fighter are now firmly behind him. 

A now-deleted retweet from McGregor, though, could potentially mean that a fight with Sanchez is far closer to reality than some may have first believed.

The UFC last week announced their keenly awaited return to McGregor's hometown of Dublin, Ireland. An August 15 Fight Night card at the city's 3 Arena was confirmed by the promotion - but no main event was announced for the show.

McGregor has made no secret of his desire to once again fight in front of his home fans, having not fought in Ireland since 2014. Such, however, is the level of McGregor's stardom that few ever expected it to be financially viable for him to fight outside of one of the company's major markets - such as Las Vegas or New York.

This line of thinking was plunged into doubt on Sunday, though, by a post from Twitter user @jaqueseoctavius - who tweeted: "UFC officially announces @TheNotoriousMMA long awaited return to Ireland! He will be facing future HoF legend @DiegoSanchezUFC", together with a mocked-up fight graphic in the usual style of that adopted by the UFC. 

The fight is, of course, far from official. What is curious, nevertheless, is the fact that McGregor retweeted the image - essentially endorsing the fight.

It would take a lot for the UFC to allow the 31-year-old to take a fight in such a venue. The 3 Arena holds less than 10,000 people, meaning that the live gate for the fight would be severely limited.

Problems would also be posed by the fact that lucrative US pay-per-view business would be hampered if the fight were to take place outside of the usual start time of the UFC's biggest events.

With all that said, if there is one man with the clout to force the UFC to work to overcome these hurdles, then that man is Conor McGregor.

Irish MMA fans will certainly hope that their man gets his wish.