MICHAEL CHANDLER insists he HASN’T signed a contract to fight Conor McGregor this summer.
Former two-division champion McGregor claimed on New Year’s Eve that the pair’s long-awaited showdown would headline International Fight Week in Las Vegas on June 29.
SunSport understands International Fight Week is indeed set to culminate with the UFC‘s sixth pay-per-view event of the year, UFC 302.
But Chandler insists the deal for him to have a June joust with The Notorious is far from finalised.
He told ESPN on Friday: “We all know it’s never 100 per cent officially confirmed until we actually step in the Octagon.
“But before that: [It’s only official] when the UFC comes out with it. My team has been in touch with the UFC, 29 June is what I’m preparing for.”
The former three-time Bellator lightweight champion added: “I have 100 per cent confidence that I’m fighting Conor McGregor on 29 June.
“29 June, we take this dude’s head off. With that being said, it’s a crazy sport. Injuries and sicknesses happen.
“The fight isn’t actually happening until both of us are in the cage.
“One thing I will give [McGregor] credit for: Go back, his entire career, when he says he’s going to be at a fight, has he ever pulled out of a fight?
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“It’s always been someone else that’s pulled out of a fight.”
McGregor, 35, sensationally claimed his clash with fan favourite Chandler would take place in the middleweight division – a weight class neither fighter has ever competed in.
But after having sat patiently on the sidelines for close to a year to get his hands on the UFC’s poster boy, Chandler could care less about the weight their Sin City showdown takes place at.
He said: “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care whether he wants to fight at 185lbs, 170, 205 – whatever it may be.
“You’ve got to remember, he doesn’t want to fight at 155 because he wants everybody to believe he’s bigger than he is.
“In his mind, he can’t fight at 170 because I called him out at 170 – therefore I’m not doing as I’m told, he’s doing what I said.
“So, he had to say 185. I’m able to fluctuate my weight, I don’t need to bulk up to make 185; it would be easy and fun to make.”
McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since snapping his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier over two-and-a-half years ago.
Chandler, meanwhile, hasn’t fought since being submitted in the third round of his UFC 281 showdown with Poirier in November 2022.
