LAS VEGAS – Conor McGregor will have a laundry list of potential matchups to pick from if he can get through Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.

Thursday, he added a new foe to the lineup.

That name? Tony Ferguson.

Although McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) has expressed numerous times that he doesn’t believe the scheduled UFC 249 lightweight title fight between Ferguson (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) will come to fruition, it’s still official, as of now.

Assuming it goes through unharmed, there’s a chance Ferguson, a former interim lightweight titleholder, could be the one to dethrone Nurmagomedov and hand him his first loss. Even if that doesn’t happen, McGregor said “El Cucuy” is a matchup of high interest.

“I think regardless of the result I think I should probably face both of these men (Nurmagomedov and Ferguson),” McGregor told MMA Junkie at UFC 246 media day. “I would like to face both of these men. I’d like to face Tony Ferguson. I’ve had a history with Tony, right? We managed Tony (at Paradigm). He was well looked after. We had him one of the highest paid non-champion in the game. There’s history with Tony. So, I’d like a bout with Tony at some stage.”

McGregor sees a rematch with Nurmagomedov – who submitted him in a memorable contest at UFC 229 in October 2018 – on the horizon, as well. He wants to up the ante from the first meeting, though, and go to fight on Nurmagomedov’s home soil.

“Of course the rematch (with Khabib), we must make that rematch,” McGregor said. “I’m pushing for the Moscow bout. Both men are certainly in the crosshairs.”

UFC 246 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

The fight will be contested at welterweight, and McGregor said that was for good reason. He sees the 170-pound weight class as the hottest in the UFC, and has already mentioned champion Kamaru Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) and “BMF” titleholder Jorge Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) as names on his list, as well.

After both Usman and Masvidal discussed McGregor as on option early on Thursday, the Irishman doubled down on both those matchups.

“All the eyes are lighting up when ‘The Notorious” name is mentioned,” McGregor said. “This 170 bout, I made this bout at 170 for the excitement that is going on at the 170-pound division. And my want to get in there for my situation for the ‘Bad Mother (Expletive)’ belt or the actual world championship bout. So, both of those men are also on my radar.”

McGregor won’t be able to sort out his exact plan until after UFC 246, but he said he’s looking to keep very active in 2020 and told the world they’ll “see a lot” of him. He will take whichever opportunity comes up quickest – noting March as a potential return date – but first things first, he’s looking to get back into a winning groove against “Cowboy” this weekend.

“I just want activity,” McGregor said. “I’m going in there looking to acquire rounds in here. I’m not in a rush. I’m going to put pressure on Donald, I’m going to hurt Donald. If he can last I’ll be happy to have five rounds in here and then build on these rounds.”

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Chase Hooper has us MMA media types shaking in our boots right now. Hopefully, the 20-year-old featherweight phenom is just here to take part and not to take over.

At Thursday’s UFC 246 media day in Las Vegas, Hooper (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) served as the UFC Fight Pass correspondent.

While numerous comical clips of Hooper interviewing fellow fighters were posted throughout the day, none was more hilarious than his interaction with Jorge Masvidal.

“So I’ve got one question for you,” Hooper said, when interviewing Masvidal. “Why did you do that to my dad?”

“Who’s your dad?” Masvidal asked.

“My father is Ben Askren,” Hooper replied. “Shoutout.”

At this point in the conversation, Masvidal’s expression totally changes. The “BMF” titleholder is caught off guard.

“I’m sorry, man,” Masvidal said. “I didn’t mean to, bro. That’s really your dad?”

Check out the full video of the hilarious interaction below:

Since his UFC debut in December, Hooper and Askren have poked fun at their resemblance. The recently retired welterweight and the recently debuted featherweight have engaged in numerous playful Twitter exchanges.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.