“As of right now, as I said recently, the hope is Conor vs. Chandler in December,” stated Ariel Helwani after Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler was dropped due to a toe injury McGregor suffered weeks before UFC 303. The former dual weight champion of the world has been away from the Octagon for a good three years and is looking to make a comeback but there’s always a hindrance when he’s looking to fight again.
After the cancellation of the clash, Conor McGregor took matters into his own hands and stated that he would be returning at the end of the year.“I had a little lapse in concentration, so I had to reschedule the bout, so I’m a little upset about that. But it’s keeping me dialed in. It’s keeping me focused… The job is not done. So that’s not bad for someone like me. I’m onwards towards the new date and take my lessons learned,” said McGregor at the BKFC event. Well, we are nearing the second half of the year and McGregor teased what he has in store for us in a training video. Let us have a look at it.
Conor McGregor flaunts signature left-hand shot in training clip
Well, a month has passed since the event’s cancellation, and new rumors are floating about the timeline of their return. Interestingly, Michael Chandler shared new graphics of their fight on his X handler with a caption that read, “December To Remember.” Well, Chandler’s words might be aligning with that of Ariel Helwani’s. However, is McGregor ready for the clash?
The former dual-weight champion of the world recently reacted to his own tweet, which stated, “I’m even smoother now,” comparing his current stature to his prime years when he defeated the likes of Eddie Alvarez and José Aldo. ‘Notorious’ uploaded a sparring video of him and captioned it as, “Make them scared to throw and then bomb them with a home-built explosive, this is Ireland. Me.”
The clip is not a recent one, and the Irishman had shared it during the weeks before UFC 303, flaunting his shot accuracy. In the clip, we see McGregor nearly dropping his opponent with his iconic slip-back counter left cross. If everything works well for both the fighters then we could witness the fight on 14th December at UFC 310, “On that Dec. 14 pay-per-view. Conor even tweeted to Michael Chandler a couple of days ago, saying, ‘Just spoke to Dana [White], and everything is in place.’ And he’s hoping that he fights in 2024. So that’s the layout, right there,” said Helwani in one of his episodes.
Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler’s rivalry started when the 6th-ranked lightweight fighter called out McGregor after he defeated Tony Ferguson back in 2022. Since then, both of the fighters have been going back and forth with each other. The duo was supposed to lock horns at UFC 303 but a pinky toe injury pushed McGregor away from the fight and in the end, Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka had to headline the massive event.
Mic͏hael Chandler is determined to face Co͏nor McGregor desp͏ite it tak͏ing up the prime time of his ca͏reer. Th͏e former Bellator cha͏mpion even ͏went ͏against Dana White’s advice to wai͏t for ‘Notori͏ous.’ So, what’s the reaction of the UFC head honcho to Chandler’s decision? Let’s find out.
Dana White’s rough take on Michael Chandler waiting for McGregor
After the UFC 303 fiasco ended, Dana White had a simple advice for the former Bellator champion and that is to not wait for Conor McGregor if he wants to get ahead in his career. At first, Chandler might have contemplated that thought as ‘Iron’ took to his X to state that the UFC had offered him a clash against Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. Nevertheless, Makhachev denied the claim and since then Chandler has been waiting for McGregor. White on the other hand appears to have some soft corners for ‘Iron’.
While having a conversation on ‘The Jim Rowe Show’, Dana White said, “I think poor Chandler wants to wait for Conor McGregor, man. Whatever he wants to do, if he wants to fight this summer, we’ll do whatever he wants. He’s one of the greatest athletes I’ve ever worked with. He’s a good human being and I like him a lot. Whatever he wants to do, we’ll figure it out for him.”
Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler might sell like hotcakes for the promotion and the UFC Supremo knows it.
