Conor McGregor insists his return to mixed martial arts is imminent. McGregor, during a press tour for his new movie “Road House,” claimed this week that he’s been in communication with UFC for a fight against Michael Chandler sometime this summer.
“We got confirmation a few days ago that it’s all systems go,” McGregor told ESPN on Tuesday.
UFC fans have lost confidence in the fight materializing thanks to start-and-stop efforts by McGregor and Chandler to drum up interest. Chandler further complicated the situation with what seemed to be a sarcastic tweet.
“I’m not sure I’ll be ready for a summer fight…this came out of the blue,” Chandler wrote on Tuesday. “I’ve been out of the loop. Can y’all ask Dana [White] to confirm this?”
But when a journalist wrote, “The amount of people taking this tweet seriously is… wow,” Chandler replied, “Haha! Right?”
Hahah! Right?
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) March 20, 2024
McGregor — who has fought as low as featherweight — previously posed a middleweight fight against Chandler but said he was teasing his potential opponent. McGregor did not specify a date, event or weight class for the big fight but claimed he’s been preparing for a long time.
“I had [my training] camp in Dubai [months ago], I had a camp in Cannes,” McGregor said. “I was preparing, and then I was kind of getting nothing back. And then other things came up and I kind of dipped out. But now, it’s on. So, there’s no messing now. I cannot dip out now.”
McGregor also took a shot at Chandler who called him out on the Feb. 19 episode of WWE Raw.
“Shut up, Michael, you f—ing imbecile,” McGregor said. “The man doesn’t shut up. I seen him on ‘Raw.’ I like Mike — I’m going to bust him up. I’m going to bust Mike up, yeah? If I say it, I do it. … If I say it, it gets done. Put that on my stone.”
McGregor vs. Chandler will be a spectacle should it materialize but the build has overstayed its welcome. The fight was first presented to fans when UFC president White announced “The Ultimate Fighter” season 31 in February 2023. The fight has yet to be formally announced 13 months later. McGregor claimed in January the fight would take place at UFC International Fight Week on June 29 before the annual event was announced by the promotion. White previously denied the fight was in the works for that weekend. UFC 303 will be the marquee event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
McGregor revealed he had two fights left on his UFC contract. A trilogy fight against Nate Diaz at the promotion’s Mexican Independence Day event at The Sphere is a top priority.
“I think that’s an absolute perfection of a fight.
“Do we sign a new deal?” McGregor said of the UFC. “Do I go? Am I a free agent? I love the UFC dearly. My heart is in the UFC — my catalogue, my life. I love everyone in the company and all the fighters and all the events and all the shows and cards. I wish to continue this. How that looks, I have no clue.”