Much has been made about Conor McGregor and his eventual return to Octagon action. Once McGregor does return, some wonder exactly what weight class he’ll be competing at. When McGregor last competed, he was regularly fighting at 155 pounds – a division he once reigned as champion in.
However, since nursing his injured leg, McGregor has but on a significant amount of weight, adding quite a bit of muscle mass. Many believe the Irishman could be gearing up for a run at welterweight, or perhaps even middleweight as McGregor himself has teased recently. Whatever weight class it will be, McGregor is expected to fight again sometime in 2023.
Conor McGregor ‘Definitely’ Over 200 Pounds
Recently, MMA analyst Laura Sanko was a guest on Submission Radio and offered her thoughts on the Conor McGregor scenario. When asked about what weight she believes McGregor would compete at upon his return, Sanko admitted that she’s leaning towards welterweight. While she acknowledges his aspirations to compete at middleweight, Sanko believes the Irishman is a bit undersized for the division.
Lastly, Sanko noted that she’s pretty good at guessing people’s weights, and believes that “The Notorious” is also currently weighing at over 200 pounds.
“In terms of what weight class, I think he would come in at – it’s got to be at least 170. And now he’s talking about going to 185. I mean, he looks like a middleweight. Absolutely looks like a middleweight. He is yoked right now. Yoked. He looks like he has the thickness of a middleweight but when you look at how tall he is in real life, he would be pretty undersized for that division.
“You look at guys like Izzy. Even Cannonier and Strickland that we saw fight – he’d be pretty short to face those guys. I think 170 – he’ll be cutting hard to 170. I don’t know what he walks around at right now. But I’m pretty good at guessing people’s weights, and it’s definitely over 200 pounds.”
Mcgregor vs Chandler at 170lb
One potential opponent that has been discussed for McGregor upon his return is Michael Chandler. Chandler called out McGregor after his big knockout win over Tony Ferguson. Sanko believes the fight should take place at welterweight, and the matchup actually favors that of McGregor when you break it down.
“I think that’s what it would be (170). I like that fight at 170. I think when you put that fight at 170 a few more of the factors slip slightly in Conor’s favor. I do think that at 170 he’s going to be able to have enough speed to keep up with Chandler. Conor does have good takedown defense, a lot of analysts make him sound like he has no ground game whatsoever, which isn’t the case.
“I like that fight a lot. I think that Chandler, regardless of the weight class, is going to come forward, get in your face, and that’s kind of one of those go big or go home styles – and when you go big or go home sometimes you go big and sometimes you go home.
“But he’s always exciting to watch and I think that level of aggression and pressure is what Conor likes to deal with because of his timing, his precision, his ability to slide right out of range and tag guys. He would have a significant reach advantage over Chandler.”
