Daniel Cormier has named his dream opponent for Conor McGregor’s long-awaited UFC return.
McGregor, 35, hasn’t stepped inside the octagon since his defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 back in July 2021.
Cormier (right) has worked as an announcer and analyst for ESPN’s UFC coverage since 2020Credit: Getty
The former two-division champion was widely expected to fight rival Ultimate Fighter coach Michael Chandler at UFC 300 but the bout is yet to be confirmed.
McGregor has been booked to fight Chandler since February but has frequently distanced himself from a clash with the lightweight contender.
UFC 300 is set to be the biggest event in the promotion’s history with the likes of Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira all featuring.
Dana White is yet to reveal the main event for the historic card.
Cormier, who has worked as a lead analyst and announcer for ESPN since retiring from MMA in 2020, believes McGregor could get top billing at UFC 300 if he accepts a trilogy fight against old foe Nate Diaz.
A third fight against Diaz, who is currently a free agent, would be much bigger and would probably help the company add a new event to its list of best-selling PPVs.
Diaz is currently 1-1 with McGregor after two fights and has expressed a desire to compete at UFC 300 – but he’s yet to mention his rival’s name specifically.
“What I will say about UFC 300, it’s missing a big fight,” Cormier said on his podcast ‘DC and RC’.
McGregor hasn’t fought in the octagon since his 2021 defeat to Dustin PoirierCredit: Getty
“That big fight that it’s missing has to have a backstory. That big fight has to have bad blood,” said Cormier.
“But if McGregor fights Diaz, that is what I believe draws the general fan in as much as anything that they could do in the UFC right now.
“Just because of Nate Diaz and the intrigue, the way the first fight played out, the way the second fight played out. It is still two of the highest-grossing pay-per-views in UFC history.
“These two men when you put them together make a lot of money and it is far enough out there to be considered an attraction.
“I also believe at this point in their careers, sure, Nate Diaz isn’t the guy he was before.
“He’s not the guy that fought the most beautiful striking exhibit against Michael Johnson in Florida, where he went and, ‘Conor McGregor, you’re taking everything I worked for.’ He’s not that same guy, but neither is Conor McGregor.”
The McGregor-Diaz rivalry goes back to 2016 and Diaz’s epic short-notice upset win via second-round rear-naked choke at UFC 196.
The pair ran it back at UFC 202 with McGregor avenging the defeat with a victory on points via unanimous decision.
Each has gone 2-3 in their five bouts since then, including Diaz’s boxing debut against Jake Paul last year.