Conor McGregor 'could look elsewhere' for return in light of growing criticism, says manager - "They can eat their words"
According to Conor McGregor's manager Audie Attar, Michael Chandler might not necessarily be the fighter 'the Notorious' faces upon his return to the octagon.
Attar recently appeared in an interview with Farah Hannoun for MMA Junkie, where he spoke about various things including his MMA clients and the McGregor-USADA situation.
Speaking about the Irishman's next fight, the manager mentioned that McGregor did have the liberty to pick an opponent other than Chandler for his UFC return.
Attar then added that since McGregor and Chandler recently did The Ultimate Fighter, a fight between the two athletes made sense:
"[Conor McGregor] always could look elsewhere. Everybody's always doubting him and criticising him and being critical but ultimately, they'll see when he steps into that octagon and ultimately, I think they could eat their words then but till then, we're just gonna do our thing and you know, go about it the right way and he's preparing at the end of the day and that's the most important thing. Chandler makes sense but so do others. But Chandler is who he has his eyes set on. Obviously, we did that show knowing that that matchup was going to be next."
Check out Audie Attar's comments from the 6:38 mark below:
McGregor and Chandler recently took up coaching roles in the latest season of UFC's cult show The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). The two were expected to share the octagon later this year but as of now, the fight looks in jeopardy as no official announcement has been made for the matchup.
Conor McGregor's manager speaks about the timeline of the Irishman's return
During his recent chat with Farah Hannoun for MMA Junkie, Audie Attar also discussed the possible timeline for his client Conor McGregor's UFC comeback.
Attar said that although a fight in 2023 was not out of the realm of possibility, 2024 appeared to be the ideal timeline for the Irishman's return:
"We can't rule out the end of the year but I think, just in terms of where we are right now, in terms of the date, it's likely going to be 2024. I think that's what the UFC has their eyes set on. So, we'll see kind of exactly when that'll be." [from the 7:16 mark]
Conor McGregor needs to be in the USADA testing pool for six months to be eligible to compete in the Octagon. However, as of now, 'The Notorious' has not re-entered the pool, drastically lowering the chances of his return in 2023.
As of July 13, Conor McGregor doesn't show any USADA Sample Counts in 2023. pic.twitter.com/f6t6FBKQGx