Dana White Says Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler Is Now Being Targeting For The Fall
THE FALL?!?! AUTUMN?!?! ARE WE EVEN GONNA BE ALIVE BY THEN?!?! WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?!?!?!
When Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler were first paired up to coach The Ultimate Fighter against each other last year, we were all hoping they'd fight each other by the end of the Summer. It seemed like McGregor was back to training (fully recovered from his brutal leg injury), done filming ROAD HOUSE, and he truly seemed motivated again! Hell, he put out a whole documentary about his comeback! The Ultimate Fighter filming in March and then a coaches fight in July/August didn't sound too unreasonable!
When we didn't hear any advancements, though, late Summer became late 2023....and then late 2023 became early 2024....and then we started hearing rumors about the fight taking place at UFC 300 in April, which made a ton of sense....until McGregor announced his return for June 28th after meeting with Dana White in Dubai....
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I think a lot of us believed that video was some sort of confirmation that McGregor would return at International Fight Week this year, but we quickly learned it was just McGregor going rogue and announcing a comeback date that had not been agreed upon prior! It seemed to be the opposite of what the UFC sometimes gets accused of (announcing fights before they're fully signed to pressure fighters), like Conor tried to strong-arm them!
Dana White did the Pat McAfee Show in Vegas this afternoon, however, and said that he's hoping to get McGregor back "this year" - targeting the Fall....
Poor Michael Chandler, man. I don't know what the hang up on booking this fight is, but it clearly ain't on Chandler's end - and he's just been in limbo for months. He's not gonna accept a fight other than the McGregor one and risk that payday fading away, but he's also wasting valuable time as a 37-year-old mixed martial artist with 31 pro fights on his resume. It's a horrible spot to be put in.
As far as the fight itself, though - we'd have to assume Conor McGregor is the one causing delays, right? I have no inside info on it, but c'mon….Dana White wants McGregor back in that octagon. He's probably doing everything in his power to make that happen. Whether or not McGregor actually wants back in there right now, I don't know. I hope he does! I hope this is all a work and they're gonna drop a McGregor/Chandler UFC 300 main event on our heads when we least expect it! I just don't think that's very realistic. I guess time will tell.