“The fight is booked” - Michael Chandler hints fight with Conor McGregor may take place at UFC 300
Michael Chandler remains determined to settle the unfinished business with Conor McGregor.
McGregor and Chandler served as opposing coaches on 'The Ultimate Fighter' 31 this year. The show crowned Kurt Holobaugh from Team Chandler and Brad Katona from McGregor's team as the winners in the lightweight and bantamweight divisions respectively.
Despite the anticipation for 'The Notorious' to stage his comeback bout against Chandler, the potential showdown still remains without an official date or venue.
The former two-division champion has been out of action since his severe leg injury in his previous bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. McGregor's intentions to face 'Iron' this year were derailed due to the Irishman not fulfilling the mandatory drug testing requirements in the USADA pool.
Because of this, Michael Chandler has been on the sidelines since November 2022, and his prominence in the lightweight division has waned. However, the former Bellator MMA lightweight champion recently hinted at the possibility of the long-awaited match with McGregor taking place during what could be the UFC 300 mega event in April 2024.
During his recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Chandler stated:
"The fight is still happening. The fight is not booked for a date, the fight is not booked for a venue. But the fight is booked between Chandler and Conor. There's no way that Conor comes back and doesn't fight me. If Conor doesn't fight me, he's probably just not coming back and that's out of my control."
He added:
"It makes a lot of sense that there's a very historic card is coming up with the UFC. My heart of hearts says that the biggest fight we've seen in a very long time, the biggest card that the UFC is gonna put together since, UFC 200 or UFC 100. So, my gut says might be waiting on till UFC 300."
Check out Michael Chandler's comments below:
Conor McGregor sends fiery message to Michael Chandler amid fight uncertainty
Conor McGregor has reaffirmed that, despite multiple setbacks in arranging their fight, he's still set on facing Michael Chandler upon his return to the octagon.
During a recent interview with All Out Fighting, McGregor stated:
"Yes, it has to be. Has to be. Chandler, sit down and wait and shut your mouth, yeah? The Mac will be here soon."
Check out McGregor's comments below (from 1:05):