Chael Sonnen claims to have “inside information” about Conor McGregor’s next fight

Last Saturday, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor came up short in his effort to shock the world with an upset defeat of undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. Even in defeat, however, McGregor made an absolute killing for this boxing match. His disclosed purse clocked in at $30 million, while his pay is likely to spike north of $100 million once pay-per-view sales are factored in.

Given the scale of this payday, there has been widespread speculation that McGregor will never return to the less-lucrative world of MMA. Apparently, however, this is not the case.

Speaking to the media post-fight, McGregor broke down his options – some of which exist in the Octagon.

“I’m certainly open to hearing what WME-IMG, what they want, and what Showtime wants, and if they want me to come over to boxing then we can talk,” McGregor said (h/t MMAFighting.com). 

“I have certainly many contenders in the mixed martial arts game,” he continued. “I have a trilogy bout with Nate Diaz that’s sitting there, I have options.”

As for these options, McGregor’s manager Audie Attar has dropped some serious hints.

“He wants that trilogy [with Nate Diaz],” Attar told MMAjunkie. “You’ve got Khabib [Nurmagomedov] calling him out, then you obviously have Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee who are fighting for the interim lightweight title. You have Max Holloway, who is the 145 champ now, who Conor beat after blowing out his ACL at the beginning of the fight. You have options, and he loves mixed martial arts.”

Speaking on The MMA Hour, current Bellator star and three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen claimed to have some “inside information” about McGregor’s next fight.

“I think [McGregor] is going to fight in the UFC. A little inside information, I think it’s Nate Diaz next.” – Chael Sonnen #TheMMAHour

— Justin Golightly (@SecretMovesMMA) August 28, 2017

So, do you think Chael Sonnen is right, and it’s Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz next?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/28/2017.