Manager Ali Abdelaziz often gets entangled in his fighter’s rivalries. Remember how involved he was in Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor‘s beef back in the day? It became so personal for the manager that he doesn’t refrain from taking digs at the Irishman, even today. So when ESPN’s Brett Okamoto gave him the chance, the Egyptian manager grabbed the bait!

We all know that Michael Chandler had been waiting to fight McGregor for a long, long time. The latter pulled out of UFC 303 due to a toe injury and the wait only got prolonged. Chandler was fed up. So at UFC 309 in November, he will face Charles Oliveira. What happens to Mystic Mac’s comeback?

Abdelaziz would love it if Justin Gaethje could face ‘The Notorious’. On ESPN MMA, Abdelaziz stated, “I think Justin Gaethje can do whatever the fu– he wants, honestly. I would like him to fight Conor McGregor or Dan Hooker. That’s what I like him to see fight. And I think he will get a title fight. And I will make sure Justin Gaethje will be the next number one contender.”

“Everybody like easy money and he [McGregor] is one of the easiest fights in UFC lightweight division … nobody care about this guy. Honestly, if the UFC want to make it, why not? But if they don’t, who cares about him?” the manager opined.

Interestingly, McGregor has shared that he has no idea what is going on regarding his return. During a BKFC press conference, he declared, “As far as Michael Chandler rematching [Charles] Oliveira, I’m happy with the date. It’s November. Maybe we can still do it after if they’re not going to line me up until December, January, February, or one of those dates. Maybe we can still do it. I’m just a bit out of the loop with it.”

It seems like the Irishman is still hoping for a fight against Chandler, but if ‘Iron’ fights Oliveira in November, there is a high chance that it could take months for Chandler to get back to the octagon.

Interesting Fact: Chandler faced Oliveira previously at UFC 262 in 2021. The latter won the fight via TKO in the second round.

Chandler’s last fight was against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in 2022 and he lost via submission. He has been away since, but his rivalry with McGregor at The Ultimate Fighter 31 excited a lot of people. We don’t know if this matchup will materialize in the future, but for now, it surely looks difficult.

Now while Abdelaziz said that Gaethje could fight McGregor if he wanted to, the latter does not think that ‘The Highlight’ is on his level. What did ‘The Notorious’ say?

When Conor McGregor opined he was better than Justin Gaethje!

Back in March, ESPN MMA shared a post on Instagram where ‘The Highlight’ was quoted saying, “I’m the best at creating damage.” After all, he had been successful in finishing fighters like Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson, and Rafael Fiziev.

However, Conor McGregor did not agree with this and commented on the same post. He stated, “I’m way better” and insinuated that he was still the most powerful fighter at the UFC. The former champ champ sounded pretty confident, but that was months ago. Right now, the situation is different. Michael Chandler and McGregor will take time and if the latter wants to make a comeback early next year, he will need to choose an opponent and keep his options open.

‘The Highlight’ is coming off a loss against Max Holloway at UFC 300. A fight against him will be big, and so will yet another clash with Dustin Poirier. ‘The Notorious’ would get a chance to avenge his UFC 264 loss and his massive leg injury. Now let us not forget that ‘The Diamond’ is also coming off a loss against Makhachev and sparked retirement rumors. If he is still up for one last fight, another clash with McGregor could be iconic.

So far Conor McGregor has promised a comeback, but fans are yet to see anything materialize. Who do you think he should face? Let us know in the comments below.