Conor McGregor next fight: will it be Nate Diaz or Floyd Mayweather Jr.?

Connor McGregor[Photo:Commons Wikimedia/Ратмир Херувимов]

UFC Featherweight champion Conor McGregor has only been quiet after being pulled from the show for two months, but it seems like the Irish superstar is now ready to have a new match in the works.

He has been involved in a public verbal war with the UFC due to them allegedly being too strict with the show's promotional activities. Sometime during that, his name got attached to a match with Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is rumored to have a match with him before 2017.

According to a report from Fox Sports, McGregor finally got the chance to sit down and clear the air with the UFC, which will go a long way with helping him jump back into his life's work. Unfortunately, he had negative results in a business meeting with his potential opponent Nate Diaz the next day. Daily Star reports that he didn't have a good history with Diaz either, after the debacle of UFC 196 where he was said to have underestimated Diaz, and failed to put him away despite hitting a few solid shots.

However, the top scenario for both fighters is a rematch between them. The only reason the negotiations went down south is that Diaz wanted a bigger share of the cut so that he could face McGregor a second time. He knows that McGregor is pushing the fight to avenge his previous loss, so now he is using this as leverage to up his price. However, if it does happen, it will most probably be in August, which will give them a full three months to get that fight card signed.

Another possibility for McGregor would be a match against Mayweather. However, Fox Sports notes that this would only be rumors injected to get their names into the headlines, since neither of them would be comfortable with going out of their designated sports, and Mayweather is already retired. It would be a nice daydream for those who are fans of both, but it will most likely not happen.

Another option is for McGregor to choose a rematch with former featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Aldo has gotten more vocal ever since his defeat, and was reported by Bloody Elbow to be trash-talking McGregor with statements like how Aldo was injured during their match. However, McGregor has already left featherweight a long time ago, and seems to have no plans of defending his crown anytime soon. Thus, the only reason McGregor would willingly return to the featherweight division is if he has no other choice.

Any other scenario is more unlikely with Connor, since he is not at the age or level to let himself make any risky moves. Any kind of match with him will definitely be publicized, since he has a great ability to bounce back even after losing. He also has the option to quit on his career right now, since he is already comfortably settled at his age. He is only 27, and he will have more options in the days to come.