Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler weight class revealed, Dana White denies knowledge
In a recent Instagram post, Dana White confirmed that Conor McGregor will be coaching the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) opposite fellow UFC fighter Michael Chandler, with the two superstars locking horns in the octagon in later this year.
During the latest episode of The Ringer MMA Show, veteran journalist Ariel Helwani confirmed that McGregor vs. Chandler would be taking place in the welterweight division:
"The plan is they'll fight in the third quarter, last I heard [in] September. We did a quick Twitter space this thing in the morning just to try it out... We were talking about the weight, wasn't sure, [but now] I've confirmed it's 170 [pounds]."
Catch Ariel Helwani's comments below:
However, during the recent UFC Fight Night 218 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White contradicted Helwani by denying any knowledge regarding the weight class, date, or location of the fight:
"We don't have any details for the fight yet. I don't have a place, I don't have a date, I don't have any of that stuff yet... The coaches are probably going to get here the Monday after the Super Bowl and then we'll get a lot of this stuff figured out and I'll announce it. "
Catch Dana White's comments below:
While Conor McGregor is currently unranked in the promotion, Michael Chandler sits in the fifth spot on the lightweight ladder. TUF season 31 will premiere on ESPN and ESPN+ on May 30.
Dana White on DWCS fighters on the UFC roster
During the post-fight press conference at UFC Fight Night 218, the UFC president seemed optimistic about Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) fighters on the promotion's roster.
White claimed that there was no question about the talent of the DWCS breakouts. As per the 53-year-old, many of the DWCS alumni will eventually become UFC champions:
"I was in the War Room and on the board, on one of the fights that's coming up in the next couple of weeks, there's like something crazy like 13 fighters on that card from the Contender Series and you know almost all of you have sat in here on... Tuesday nights and you know seeing these incredible fights, so it is not a shocker to me that we already have a champ and we're going to see a lot more world champions coming out of the Contender Series."
Jamahal Hill became the first DWCS alumn to win UFC gold when he defeated Glover Teixeira at UFC 283, laying claim to the vacant light heavyweight title.