Conor McGregor has been backed to return to his "nasty ways" ahead of any future showdown with Islam Makhachev.
The Irish star is eyeing a return to the lightweight division after failing to win any of his previous three bouts at 155lbs including two defeats by Dustin Poirier.
In his absence, Khabib Nurmagomedov's protege Makhachev has made a remarkable rise up the rankings.
And former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub believes any future clash between the pair would be a shrewd business move due to McGregor's bitter rival with Nurmagomedov.
“I’d use all the eyeballs on Conor McGregor and have him fight Makhachev on a major, major pay-per-view," Schaub said on his YouTube show. "It’s a terrible match-up for Conor but there’s some history there, right?
"You look at Conor and Khabib and obviously Islam is very familiar with that, Conor could get back to his nasty ways which some people love. I don’t think Conor is scared of anybody, I think he would sign tonight if they offered him that fight.
"His team would have to look at it and go, 'Dude the leg injury and we have got to get a win' and this would be the toughest win he could get.
"Charles Oliveira is a much better match-up for Conor, I just don't want you guys to get upset when Conor gets a title shot because I really see this happening.
"As a business model if you want to get Islam to that level, that Khabib level, and obviously Khabib is a massive star, whether you want to submit to it or not, a lot of that is because of his fight with Conor and the drama. It kind of put him on the map."
Makhachev is ranked at No.3 in the lightweight rankings after his dominant victory over Bobby Green saw him leapfrog previously-scheduled opponent Beneil Dariush.
The Russian is now first in line to fight the winner of champion Oliveira's clash with Justin Gaethje in May.
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The rivalry boiled over between McGregor and Makhachev's mentor Nurmagomedov after their fight in 2018.
Any potential bout would no doubt attract huge interest with McGregor's tilt with Nurmagomedov still ranked as the promotion's highest selling pay-per-view.
Makhachev believes any bout with McGregor would be an "easy fight" despite fears the superstar could jump the queue for a shot at the title.
“Honestly, I don’t remember when this guy beat someone,” he said. “He have to come back, beat someone, and … let’s go, why not? I’m gonna smash him like easy. Bobby Green is gonna be hard for me more than for him.”
