Conor McGregor could be fighting at middleweight before he retires.
‘The Notorious’ has made a handful of wild claims while recovering from a leg injury in his last fight against Dustin Poirier. McGregor’s latest tease involves a new weight class he’s never competed at. The former two-division UFC champion had this to say on Twitter:
“I’m gonna give middleweight a got at some point 100%.”
McGregor followed up on Twitter with a since-deleted message saying:
“I’m a big fridge at middleweight. But hot like oven same time, ye know yourself, catch it on PPV. Don’t know tho. It be hard work. Those rounds against those middle/lhw, they were alternating fresh each round. I’ve put in psycho work doing this job over the years.”
Despite some contrary beliefs in the MMA community, McGregor at middleweight is not impossible, considering he’s already moved up to welterweight full-time. With that said, ‘The Notorious’ would be undersized with a height of 5’9’’ at 185 pounds.
Conor McGregor sees middleweight in his future 🔮 pic.twitter.com/QTzEWwhjgD
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) December 18, 2022
What’s next for Conor McGregor?
Conor McGregor last fought in July 2021, where he lost for the second consecutive time against his rival Dustin Poirier. ‘The Notorious’ suffered a broken leg that has led to a long recovery process. During his recovery, McGregor has been accused of using PEDs after removing himself from the USADA testing pool.
The former two-division UFC champion has revealed plans to resume his USADA drug testing in February. USADA requires fighters to complete six months of drug testing before being approved to fight, but there have been rare scenarios where a fighter has received an exemption, including Brock Lesnar.
‘The Notorious’ has been hinting at a possible USADA exemption. With that said, the drug-testing agency recently stated they are currently not interested in McGregor’s proposal. Regardless of the timing, the 34-year-old plans to fight in 2023.
McGregor’s next opponent could be one of several UFC superstars. The most common names being thrown around are Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, and Dustin Poirier. ‘The Notorious’ has recently shown interest in fighting Poirier again, but that could be a tough sell to the fans. Meanwhile, Chandler and Gaethje would be new matchups where the former two-division champion would have a good chance of getting back in the win column.
