Michael Chandler is closing in on the fight of a lifetime.
It’s no secret that Chandler has wanted to square off with former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor for ages and the matchup appears to be official as both men have announced that they expect to compete at an event this summer. McGregor previously announced that he and Chandler would fight at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas, but UFC CEO Dana White has said the date is not official.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Chandler said that there is an official agreement between he and McGregor, but also could not confirm a date.
“I’ve got the official announcement,” Chandler said. “It’s happening this summer. I can’t tell you the actual date, but it’s happening this summer, yes. Me vs. Conor. Obviously, this has been a year in the making. We did The Ultimate Fighter, he’s been off obviously doing the Road House movie and all his other aspirations and accolades outside of the cage, so here we are, this summer, I’m ready.”
McGregor and Chandler served on opposing coaches on the 31st season of TUF last year, with the expectation that the two would be booked for a fight following the conclusion of the show this past August. However, an official announcement has yet to be made by the UFC regarding McGregor’s next bout. He looks to return from action for the first time since July 2021, when he broke his leg in a fight against longtime rival Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
Pressed on the status of the bout, Chandler repeated that the fight is official as far as he’s concerned and that he was prepared for the uncertainty that comes with negotiating 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. We’re giving you a window that we’re going to be fighting in. But yeah, it’s always been Conor and I. ... I’ve always known it was going to be Conor even though the media or the tweets or the things being said, so it’s been an interesting ride. It’s been a fun ride.
“It’s what I signed up for, but now we’re getting darn close. We are getting really close. He’s starting training, I’m starting training, and we’re going to collide this summer, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
When McGregor first announced June 29 as a possibility, he also mentioned that he and Chandler would be fighting at 185 pounds, a weight class neither man has ever competed at. McGregor won UFC titles at featherweight and lightweight and has competed at welterweight, while Chandler has spent the vast majority of his career fighting at 155 pounds.
What weight the fighters will step to the scales at is one thing that is not official according to Chandler, not that he’s concerned 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. It’s funny the whole ‘any guy, any time, any place, any weight,’ that’s the kind of guy I am and I’ve kept that same energy and that same sentiment and people misconstrue it as, ‘OK, you’ll just fight guy whenever. You want the red panty night so much.’ It’s like, no, it doesn’t matter.
“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.”
