Chael Sonnen predicts Conor McGregor’s next opponent

UFC analyst Chael Sonnen believes he knows who Conor McGregor is fighting next.

“So I got a little inside scoop, and I don’t know if it’s even that well-kept of a secret but Conor is coming back,” Sonnen said in a video posted to his YouTube page.

“So who’s the next opponent gonna be?” Sonnen continued. “Well if Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and Tony [Ferguson] are on each other’s dance card… It’s looking like that Frankie [Edgar] talk wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, Frankie and [Aljamain] Sterling even appear to be matched up. I think Cowboy is out of the equation with two losses and possibly needing a little bit of rest right now. And I think it brings you back to [Justin] Gaethje. And it’s not to say that Gaethje is the only guy there. He’s a deserving guy, he’s a fun guy, he would do the fight. Conor has also said that he would fight Gaethje.”

Sonnen thinks all signs point towards Gaethje for Conor McGregor unless something drastic happens in Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker’s UFC 243 fight this weekend. That being said, he feels there’s another option for McGregor, too: Nate Diaz.

“If we are kicking the can all the way to next year, Nate Diaz will be free after November 2nd, and who knows what he wants to do? Does Nate want to go to [155 pounds]? Is he interested in the Conor thing? Eventually, they’re gonna play that card, they’ve both got an ace of spades up their sleeve. That fight works anytime. But, Nate Diaz is red hot right now.”

If Conor McGregor returns to the cage, who would you like to see him fight?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/1/2019.