Conor McGregor’s next fight in UFC will be Nate Diaz in blockbuster trilogy, predicts rival Colby Covington

COLBY COVINGTON has predicted Conor McGregor will fight Nate Diaz on his UFC return.

McGregor is set for a comeback this year having been recovering from the leg break suffered against Dustin Poirier last July.

The Irishman called out welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, 34, for his return fight.

But Covington, twice beaten by Usman, believes the UFC will have McGregor finally settle his score with Diaz in a trilogy bout.

He told : “I think Conor’s gonna fight Nate, I think that’s the biggest money fight the UFC can do.

“I mean that’s what, their trilogy? They need to close that chapter, so I think that’s the fight that’s gonna happen.

"It’s the fight that makes the most sense for the UFC, and if he wants to fight for the title after that, yeah no problem.

"He can go fight for the title."

Diaz, 36, in 2016 became the first man to beat McGregor, 33, in the UFC but the American lost the rematch five months later.

A trilogy decider has evaded fans ever since but with one fight on Diaz's UFC contract left, time is running out.

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He was in talk to fight Poirier, 33, who is coming off two wins over McGregor, a knockout and then the horror leg break.

But if Diaz is in line for his trilogy, Covington, 34, wants to fight his ex-training partner Poirier.

He said: "Nate's going to fight Conor, that fight [Poirier vs Diaz] is not going to happen, he's going to be the odd man out.

"It makes sense, so let's build this big blockbuster pay-per-view for July international fight week."