Jake Paul, Nate Diaz and Islam Makhachev have all been backed to beat Conor McGregor upon the UFC star's return to fighting.
McGregor - who is targeting a return to the octagon later this year- has been sidelined since breaking his tibia at UFC 264 last July. The Irishman has called out welterweight king Kamaru Usman for his comeback fight in the hopes of becoming a three-weight champion.
A trilogy fight between McGregor and Nate Diaz has also been sought upon his return, but the coach of McGregor's now-retired UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks 'Notorious' would lose to fan favourite Diaz in their third encounter.
"The last time Conor fought Nate Diaz, Nate had an injury to his ribs," Javier Mendez told Betway Insider US. "Nate said after the fight if he was facing himself, an injured fighter, he would have been able to finish himself, which Conor wasn’t able to do.
Diaz handed McGregor his first UFC loss when he stepped up on 11 days' notice to submit him at UFC 196. McGregor avenged his defeat just five months later and a third fight between the rivals has been called upon ever since.
"I would favour Nate is because he never quits, never quits," Mendez continued. "You have got to kill this guy to stop him coming forward and if he's not injured, and there’s nothing wrong with him, he’ll keep coming and we know Conor breaks."
Mendez also thinks McGregor wouldn't stand a chance against Nurmagomedov's protege and top lightweight contender Makhachev. The Russian is unbeaten in his last 10 UFC fights and is ranked No.3 at 155-pounds, six places above McGregor.
"Islam was ready to beat Conor when Khabib fought Conor," Mendez continued. "Islam will destroy Conor just the same way Khabib destroyed Conor, if not quicker. Islam can deal with anything Conor has. His defence, takedowns and ground and pounds and submissions are great, Islam would smash him."
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McGregor has been called out by YouTube star turned boxer Jake Paul for months, with the 25-year-old even offering to fight him in the UFC. Mendez would favour Paul in a boxing match between the pair because of his size advantage.
"I would favour Jake Paul at 175 over Conor in a boxing ring because he’s too big. But you can’t count Conor out, Conor’s a good boxer, so you can’t discount his boxing ability but the size is a little much," he said.
"Jake Paul hits extremely hard as you can tell by what he’s done. If you haven’t woken up to Jake Paul’s ability they better because he’s only improving. So I think the size is a big difference and the power would be too much for Conor."
