Conor McGregor is 'probably' going to face UFC lightweight rival Michael Chandler at welterweight rather than run it back with Nate Diaz in a trilogy fight.

MMA fans have been campaigning for the pair to run it back in a rubber match for years - with the Notorious also apparently on board.

McGregor's series decider with Diaz, however, has seemingly gone cold.

And according to former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier, an explosive showdown with Chandler at some point later this year is now much more likely for the Irishman.

Cormier told ESPN's YouTube channel: “Well, I’ve got two names. I know who he should fight, and I know who he probably will fight.

“Who he should fight is Nate Diaz. They should complete this trilogy. It’s a massive fight. Both guys are not necessarily in the title picture right now. It’s a fun fight. We’ve seen it twice and both of them have delivered. I think it’s evenly matched, so I think he should fight Nate Diaz. Who I believe he will fight is Michael Chandler because Michael Chandler has taken the UFC by storm.

“This guy only had four fights (in the UFC so far). He has now had the greatest front-kick knockout of all time, he has knocked out Dan Hooker, fought for the championship, fought in a Fight of the Year fight against Justin Gaethje – so his resume is strong, his profile is strong and every single time he wins a fight, he jumps on that microphone and he makes a statement.

"And in his last fight, he made a statement that he’s ready to fight Conor McGregor.

conor-mcgregor-dee-devlin
CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 25: Dee Devlin and Conor McGregor attend the screening of "Elvis" during the 75th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 25, 2022 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Conor McGregor pictured with his fiancée Dee Devlin

“I think this fight works. I think Chandler is going to engage him on the terms under which McGregor wants to fight and Chandler is willing to go and fight him at 170.

“So I think he should fight Nate Diaz, [but] I think that he will fight Michael Chandler.”

McGregor, 33, is reportedly in the final stages of recovering from the horrific broken leg injury he suffered in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier last July.

But UFC president Dana White recently revealed the 33-year-old is still some way away from returning to the Octagon.

He told reporters: “I think that first of all, talking about Conor, he’s not ready.

“Like, I’ll give you an example – you guys, for the last however many months, wanted to talk to me about Conor.

“I would never have said Chandler in a million years, and then tonight happened in the way that it happened and Chandler said ‘Hey Conor, let’s fight’, and Conor’s like, ‘You know what, I would like to fight you, I think it would be an exciting fight’.

“So by the time Conor is ready to actually compete, who knows what’s going to happen, who knows what the landscape is going to be, but I promise you, we’ll make a good one.”

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