Conor McGregor Wants to Fight Kamaru Usman for Title in UFC Return in Late Summer

Conor McGregor wants his next fight to be against Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title.

In an interview on his MacLife YouTube channel (h/t ESPN's Brett Okamoto), McGregor discussed his desire to face Usman:

"Myself versus Usman for the 170-pound title in my comeback fight is the one I'm eyeballing at the minute. Why cut the weight? I've already won the 155-pound title. I got myself to a lightweight frame, but you know, I'm big now. I feel big. I feel strong. I feel healthy. I've got good energy. I'm coming back from a gruesome injury. I don't want to be depleting myself. There should be no need to deplete myself."

McGregor has not fought since UFC 264 in July, which saw him lose to Dustin Poirier by doctor stoppage after he suffered a broken tibia and fibula in his left leg.

Per Okamoto, McGregor mentioned "late summer" as a target for his return date, although he didn't commit to that time frame.

Usman, 34, is widely regarded as the most dominant active fighter in MMA, as he owns a 20-1 career record and has won 19 consecutive fights. That includes a 15-0 record in UFC.

Usman is No. 1 in UFC's pound-for-pound rankings.

McGregor is an all-time UFC great in his own right and has held the UFC featherweight and lightweight titles, but he has struggled lately.

The 33-year-old Irishman has lost three of his past four fights and four of his past seven, including two losses to Poirier, one to Khabib Nurmagomedov and one to Nate Diaz, dropping his record to 22-6.

Meanwhile, Usman owns victories over Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, Gilbert Burns and Tyron Woodley among others over the past few years.

Despite the gap in recent performance, McGregor believes he could beat Usman:

"I feel confident against Usman -- a jab-happy, sloppy, orthodox wrestler with no submissions whatsoever. What's he going to do? Where's the danger here? I don't see danger. ... No one has ever obtained three titles in three divisions like I will do if we make this fight."

Usman is also injured after suffering a hand injury that required surgery during his UFC 268 win over Covington in November. Okamoto noted that he is expected back over the summer.

In terms of star power, few UFC fights could measure up to Usman vs. McGregor.

Based on how McGregor has performed over his past several fights, however, it is unclear if UFC President Dana White would be willing to put him in such a high-profile bout fresh off an injury.