Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor have announced they will compete against each other this summer, although the date and weight class are yet to be confirmed by UFC.
Michael Chandler’s big moment is on the horizon. He’s been itching to take on ex-UFC champ Conor McGregor for a long time. Both fighters have hinted at a summer showdown. McGregor had earlier suggested a UFC 303 face-off on June 29 in Vegas. However, Dana White, UFC CEO, hasn’t confirmed this date.
Chandler, in a chat with TMZ Sports, mentioned an official agreement with McGregor. But he didn’t spill the beans on the date. “I’ve got the official announcement,” Chandler stated. “It’s happening this summer. I can’t tell you the actual date, but it’s happening this summer, yes. Me vs. Conor.” He added that this fight has been a year in the making.
Chandler and McGregor were rival coaches on the 31st season of TUF last year. The expectation was a fight would follow the show’s end in August. But the UFC hasn’t made any official announcement about McGregor’s next fight. McGregor is set to return to action for the first time since July 2021. He had broken his leg in a fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
Chandler insists the fight is official, at least from his perspective. He’s prepared for the uncertainty that comes with a McGregor matchup. “The official status is we have an agreement,” Chandler said. “We are fighting this summer. We’ll let the court of public opinion speculate on what the date is, but it’s definitely this summer.”
When McGregor first suggested June 29, he also mentioned that he and Chandler would be fighting at 185 pounds. This is a weight class neither man has ever competed at. McGregor has won UFC titles at featherweight and lightweight and has competed at welterweight. Chandler has spent most of his career fighting at 155 pounds.
The weight at which the fighters will step to the scales is not official, according to Chandler. But he’s not worried about it. “Don’t we love to just keep it all up in the air, right?” Chandler said. “We’re talking ‘85, we’re talking ‘70, it doesn’t seem to be that we’re talking ‘55, but ‘85 or ‘70 and obviously I’ve been vocal.”
Chandler is ready to fight at any weight. “Conor and I are about the same size at all times. We’ve fought in the same weight class our entire life. So it doesn’t matter what the weight class is. All that matters is the confines of competitions inside of mixed martial arts under a specific rule set and I’m going to go out there and take his head off and get my hand raised.”