Photo | Conor McGregor is back in the gym and sporting a new look

Most MMA fans would agree that a fully-focussed Conor McGregor is a force to be reckoned with.

Officially, the Irishman is retired. That hasn’t stopped him hitting the gym and sporting a familiar new look.

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The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, McGregor, is clearly still in great shape. And the new buzz cut harks back to a special time in his career. Specifically, the rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202.

Before losing to Diaz at UFC 196 five months prior, ‘The Notorious’ was on a 15-fight winning streak and had an unblemished record in the UFC. Losing to Diaz the first time appeared to light a fire under him. He came back looking more focussed and sporting the now infamous buzz cut, as he battled his way to a victory via majority decision. It was a fight that would go down in history, and garnered the second-most UFC pay-per-view buys of all-time with a total of 1.65 million.

Is McGregor’s latest post is a sign of things to come?

He has ‘retired’ before. He came back. It’s inevitable that fans will continue to speculate over a possible return to the Octagon.

Dana White recently added fuel to that theory, by saying he was working on some ‘fun stuff’ for the Irishman.

If the 32-year-old does decide to jump back in, he’ll have no short of suitors.

One fight that he’s been warned against taking is a match-up with in-from Swede, Khamzat Chimaev. Speaking to TMZ this week, Chimaev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz said that his client would ‘put McGregor in a wheelchair.’ 

Abdeliaziz went on to say that,

‘Conor McGregor is mentally unstable. I wish him the best of luck.

‘Khamzat would kill him. He would really kill him.’

The beef between Abdelaziz and McGregor is longstanding, stemming from the Irishman’s fight with his star client, Khabib Nurmagomedov, so it’s no surprise to hear the Dominance MMA CEO throwing shade.

If Conor McGregor’s latest post is hinting at a possible return to action, who do you think would be the ideal opponent?