It appears Conor McGregor won’t be fighting Michael Chandler this summer after all.
UFC president Dana White said Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that McGregor and Chandler will “eventually” fight, vaguely adding “hopefully this year.”
McGregor had posted a video to social media in late December announcing he would be returning to the Octagon this summer during the UFC’s planned International Fight Week in Las Vegas, however that does not appear to be the current plan.
“There is no date,” White explained. “I’m hoping for the fall. I’m hoping we get it done in the fall.”
McGregor had also said the bout would take place at 185 pounds despite neither him nor Chandler ever competing in the middleweight division. The organization has not confirmed the weight at which McGregor and Chandler will compete if and when the bout takes place.
The two fighters coached opposite one another on the UFC’s reality series The Ultimate Fighter in 2023 with the expectation they would fight at a future event following the conclusion of the tournament.
McGregor, who turns 36 in July, has fought just four times since winning the lightweight title back in 2016. He lost three of those fights, including back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier in 2021. McGregor was knocked out at UFC 257 then sustained a broken leg in the rematch at UFC 264 and has not fought since.
The Irish superstar, despite his inactivity, has managed to stay in the spotlight. He is set to appear in his first feature film alongside Jake Gyllenhaal next month when Road House is released on streaming.
Chandler has also lost three of his past four outings and he too is looking to bounce back from a stoppage loss to Poirier. The 37-year-old was submitted by Poirier in the third round of their classic Fight of the Night battle at UFC 281 in November of 2022.
A former Bellator lightweight champion -- in fact, he and McGregor were lightweight champions of major organizations simultaneously in 2016 -- Chandler has become one of the more popular athletes in the organization over the past few years despite only going 2-3 in the UFC.
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