It has been far too long since Michael Chandler fought.
The former three-time Bellator lightweight champion has been patiently waiting to welcome the former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titleholder. Conor McGregorback to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). However, this fight has not yet materialized despite an official attempt for UFC 303 in June 2024.
Unfortunately, McGregor’s broken little toe forced him to withdraw from the main event of International Fight Week, so Chandler has been out of action since November 2022.
“I’m never going to play the victim,” Chandler said on Beat The Heat. “I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Hey, man. I’ve been out of the business for so long. I have a wife and two kids. I have businesses. I have all this stuff.’
“With all due respect, it’s fairer, I’m ready to put you behind me,” he continued. “I’m ready to lay you flat on your back in the middle of an Octagon, wherever that may be, hopefully Las Vegas, Nevada, and I can walk out of that Octagon and never have to think about you again. I can just ride on the laurels of the attention that was there that night.”
Chandler and McGregor have both speculated and called for a rebooking in December 2024. Although they are optimistic that this can happen, the UFC CEO said, Dana Whitehas claimed that McGregor will not fight in 2024.
The fight between Chandler and McGregor would probably still take place at welterweight, as was planned for UFC 303. A return to the 170-pound division would be Chandler’s first time in that weight class since his professional debut in August 2009. McGregor, on the other hand, last fought in the 170-pound division when he defeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone by a 40-second technical knockout (head kick and punches) at UFC 246 in January 2020. The victory was McGregor’s last in the sport (22-6).
