A skirmish with Alvarez, a call from Volkanovski and negotiations with Chandler: McGregor is preparing to return to the octagon

"A fight with him would be the greatest in history"

Recently, Conor McGregor has been attracting more and more attention. As in the best years, he constantly generates high-profile newsbreaks, throws bold challenges and gives vivid quotes. Obviously, the Irishman is preparing for the long-awaited return. At the same time, it is not a fact that he will stop exclusively at mixed martial arts. So, recently, the former UFC champion announced his readiness to fight Saul Alvarez.

The answer of one of the best boxers on the planet was not long in coming. When asked by journalists, the Mexican noted that he did not know about the challenge, but stressed that he was ready to defeat the Irishman, even removing one hand behind his back. However, in any case, Conor will have to wait his turn, because in the fall Canelo expressed a desire to have a rematch with Dmitry Bivol. But in the future, such a fight cannot be ruled out.

In addition, McGregor did not remain silent and published a funny post on Twitter, which he later deleted.

"Canelo, you're a red sausage, I'll do you without hands - remember," Conor wrote.

Moreover, he promised someday to try his hand at bare-knuckle fights. One of the advantages of this species, the Irishman called entertainment. In his opinion, it is impossible to hold a boring fight there, and any blow can lead to a serious cut and cause panic in the ring.

Meanwhile, McGregor will probably have to take on an extremely dangerous challenge in MMA, and it's not about a fight with Michael Chandler at all. The desire to fight him was unexpectedly expressed by Alex Volkanovski, who has been holding the UFC featherweight championship belt since 2019. He recalled that he beat all the strongest competitors in this category, and now he does not mind meeting with the former title holder.

"A fight with him would certainly be the greatest in history. I'm sure now everyone would like to see such a fight. If we could organize this right now, put Conor in his prime against Wolf in his prime, it would be a truly special event," MMAJunkie quoted the Australian as saying.

At the same time, he stressed that he wants to organize a duel with the Irishman not at all because of money.

"Yes, there is, of course, a monetary component, the accompanying chaos, excitement and everything else. But we are talking about a fighting legacy. In that case, I would beat every featherweight champion. I also plan to reach the record for the number of successful title defenses," Volkanovski added.

The Netflix series and Poirier's promise

Meanwhile, Netflix has released a documentary miniseries titled "McGregor Forever." Each of the four episodes, lasting about 50 minutes, tells about his last fights: a defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov, a fight with Donald Cerrone and an unsuccessful trilogy with Dustin Poirier.

This is not the first picture about the ex-UFC champion. A few years ago, the documentary Conor McGregor: Infamous was released. The new series does not present surprises, but it well reveals the personality of one of the most popular fighters on the planet. It shows what a transformation has occurred with the Irishman with the acquisition of fame and big money.

And taking into account the fact that the shooting did not fall on the most successful period of his career, the audience witnessed how an athlete who once did not know health problems, ready to enter the octagon as often as possible, gradually ages and gets more and more injuries.

Not without the theme of the family. The Netflix team received permission to shoot quite personally, for example, from the athlete's home. Thanks to this, the audience learned how warmly Conor treats his children. It seems that he plays with them with great pleasure, what he does in the gym.

The release of the project became an event in the world of MMA and attracted the interest of many famous fighters. One of the unwitting protagonists, Poirier, also promised to get acquainted with him. The American admitted that he had received a lot of messages from colleagues and friends about the series, and said that he would definitely watch it when the training camp starts, and he will have more time.

"By the end of the year, I'll be in a cage again"

With a high degree of probability, the Irishman will soon "write a plot for the next series", returning to the octagon after two painful defeats to Poirier in 2021. Now both are taking part in the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Within its framework, fighters play the role of coaches and lead their teams to victory. At the end of the project, their face-to-face fight should take place.

The head of the UFC, Dana White, once again confirmed that the process of returning Conor to the USADA doping testing pool, necessary for fights in the organization, has been launched. According to him, the Irishman is collecting the necessary documents.

At the same time, White admitted that he wants to organize two big tournaments at Madison Square Garden at the end of the year. Accordingly, McGregor and Chandler can converge on one of them. This information was confirmed by the Irishman.

"It's done, I'm ready. By the end of the year, I will be in the cage again and take part in competitions. Now I'm collecting everything I need. The fight is agreed. It is announced during The Ultimate Fighter show. By the end of the project, the date and everything that is required by the fans will be announced," the athlete said.

It is very curious that most of the colleagues believe in the successful return of the star. For example, Poirier, who defeated him twice, believes that if the Irishman again begins to treat training properly and approaches them with all his heart, he can return to the previous level.

"If Conor - despite the fact that he had an injury and a long period without fighting, and we are not getting younger - returns and regains more or less the same form with his characteristic reaction and rhythm, he thinks will stop Chandler," the American predicted.

In turn, former UFC belt contender Uriah Faber suggested that the American's advantage on the ground, contrary to fears, should not become an insurmountable obstacle for Conor.

"McGregor, it seems to me, has significantly reduced this gap. I think Chandler often takes big risks, he likes to fight fiercely and aggressively, and from Conor's side I have seen many times the prohibitive strength and accuracy. In my opinion, the fight in five rounds will be more in favor of the Irishman, "Faber explained.

There were also those who doubted the possible return of McGregor to regular doping control. It is no coincidence that some accused him of using illegal substances. For example, Michael Bisping hinted at this.

"He needs to tie up with... what he sits on there. Let him get off all sorts of goodies and return to protein shakes and oatmeal - and we will not have problems with him. He has to work hard, start training, go to the gym - do everything that needs to be done, "said the Briton, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Some, on the contrary, do not believe in the success of the former UFC champion in two categories. So, Eddie Alvarez bet on the victory of his possible rival, calling Chandler a "hellish athlete." In his opinion, the style of the American is absolutely not suitable for McGregor, and therefore he will have few chances.