Conor McGregor has suggested that his fight with Michael Chandler will take place at ‘the end of summer’ this year.
It was announced in February that McGregor and Chandler would serve as opposing coaches on UFC television show The Ultimate Fighter before squaring off in the Octagon themselves.
The new series of the programme is due to air from May to August, but McGregor vs Chandler is still without a date, venue and weight class. McGregor is a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, while Chandler is a former three-time Bellator lightweight champion. McGregor has also fought at welterweight in the UFC and has bulked up significantly since breaking his leg in his last fight, a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021.
In a positive update for fans, however, McGregor told Inside Fighting on Sunday (23 April) that his fight with American Chandler is set for “sometime end of summer”.
The Irishman made the comment at a casino in Las Vegas, where Gervonta Davis beat Ryan Garcia on Saturday (22 April). After the highly-anticipated boxing match, McGregor consoled Garcia in his dressing room.
Chandler, who last competed in November and lost to Poirier via submission, has long angled for a fight with McGregor. The 37-year-old is 2-3 in the UFC, having been knocked out by Charles Oliveira and outpointed by Justin Gaethje, while recording knockout wins over Tony Ferguson and Dan Hooker.
McGregor became the first dual-weight champion in UFC history in 2016, when he collected the lightweight belt 11 months after winning featherweight gold.
The 34-year-old has gone 1-3 in the six years since, though, stopping Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds but suffering a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov and a knockout by Poirier, who also beat McGregor when the Irishman suffered a broken leg in their most recent meeting.
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