Conor McGregor has been advised to chase a fight with UFC veteran Michael Chiesa - who was a victim of the Irishman's bus attack in 2018.
McGregor is eyeing a return to the octagon later this year for the first time since breaking his leg in defeat by Dustin Poirier. His new ripped physique has led to his fresh plan to return at 170lb and has called out champion Kamaru Usman to an immediate title challenge.
UFC legend Chael Sonnen believes Chiesa would make a suitable opponent for McGregor after the welterweight previously announced a lawsuit against McGregor after being injured in the bus attack. “Michael Chiesa. That’s the one that has absolutely never been discussed by anybody," Sonnen told his YouTube channel.
"But just to remind you guys. When the bus incident between Conor and the dolly and Khabib took place, there was lawsuits that followed that. And Chiesa was one of them. Chiesa got glass into his eye, it was very bad experience. I think that there’s a story there.
"I’ve always thought there was a story there that should be told. But neither guy has told it. Neither guy’s manager told it, neither camp has told it, no trainers have told it. But that’s the match. That’s a very interesting match from a stylistic standpoint. That checks a lot of boxes.”
Chiesa has suffered back-to-back fights in his previous two fights at welterweight, having lost to Sean Brady in his previous appearance back in November 2021. The 34-year-old was on the bus during the attack which took place in New York in April 2018, which forced him to withdraw from the fight card after having glass hit his eye.
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McGregor was seeking a confrontation with rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was also on the bus at the Barclays Center, when he grabbed a metal dolly and launched it at the vehicle. Chiesa later announced he planned to legal action against McGregor, who was subsequently charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief.
The 33-year-old has suffered a decline in recent years having won just one of his last four fights inside the octagon. McGregor will be hoping his fortunes will change after confirming his intentions to switch to 170lb in a bid to become champion in a third weight class.
UFC heavyweight Daniel Cormier believes it would not hurt McGregor's reputation if he takes a tune-up fight to build up momentum. “I tap in on the tune-up fight," Cormier said. "Honestly, we’ve seen Conor in a tune-up fight before, when he fought Cowboy Cerrone. That was about as tune-up a fight as it can be.
"I understand that people don’t like saying that Cowboy is a tune-up but at this point in his career, it was a tune-up fight. It lasted forty seconds but it sold a million pay-per-view buys. It just has to be the right name for that tune-up fight for the company to still sell a boatload of pay-per-views, and Conor to look good to warrant that next fight that is massive.”
