Chael Sonnen expects Conor McGregor to draw a real welterweight in his UFC return.
UFC CEO Dana White is confident that Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) will make his long-awaited comeback this year. There have been rumblings of Max Holloway potentially being his opponent, but Sonnen doubts that.
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Instead, he suggested Ian Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), who’s currently vying for a title shot against UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. Carlos Prates claimed McGregor turned him down, which would fall in line with the type of opponent Sonnen thinks McGregor will face.
“I’m confident in telling you for sure it won’t be Max,” Sonnen told MMA Junkie. “Because the only thing that I know about the Conor fight is that it will not be lower than 170 pounds. … Max doesn’t fight at 170, and I know he says, ‘I would go up for that fight,’ but the mere fact that he would go up for that fight is the very reason you don’t need to do that fight.
“I think Conor’s probably going to get dealt right from the bottom of the deck. They’re probably going to bring in a hammer like Ian Garry. And even if it’s not Ian Garry, I think it will be someone like Ian Garry, a young guy with some shelf life and somebody we all know. It doesn’t have to be. Conor McGregor could take on a mop. ‘Red Panty Night’ is still real. He could take any opponent, and it’s going to do really great, but I think he’s going to get a stud. It’s going to be a main event, there’s going to be a lot of money, and generally that’s going to attract a pretty good dance partner.”
Ian Machado Garry ‘very difficult’ for Conor McGregor?
If it is Machado Garry, Sonnen sees McGregor having a hard time – but won’t completely count him out.
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“It’s going to be very difficult for Conor,” Sonnen said. “We’ve seen two guys come back from this injury, Corey Hill and Anderson Silva. It’s a very tough injury. Then he’s going to move up a weight class. Then he’s had five years off. Conor’s really up against it. I know that Ian should win it, but Conor’s special, man.
“That left hand is very real. To what you said earlier, that’s someone Ian has always looked up to. Ian used to copy Conor’s phrases. He used to coin him, and that’s a hard thing to fight your idol. I’d be interested in the fight, but I think the oddsmakers would have it for Garry.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst: Conor McGregor fights top welterweight, not Max Holloway
