Michael Chandler thinks there’s a strong chance Conor McGregor’s final act in MMA will come at UFC 303.
After more than a year of waiting, Chandler’s (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) dream fight with McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) finally has a date and location. He will welcome the most famous fighter in the sport’s history back to the octagon in the welterweight main event of the June 29 card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Although many people cast doubt that McGregor would compete again after suffering a serious broken leg in his July 2021 trilogy-bout loss to Dustin Poirier, the fight is now official. “The Notorious” will make his highly anticipated comeback against former three-time Bellator champ Chandler, who intends on making the Irishman pay for the long wait.
Chandler thinks the matchup is going to be one of the biggest in UFC history, and it’s on that platform where he intends to send his strongest message and end McGregor’s career.
“This is going to be the biggest fight of the last five years,” Chandler said in a recent Instagram Q&A. “This will be the biggest fight since Conor vs. Khabib (Nurmagomedov). I don’t say that because Conor’s opponent is just as big as Khabib, who was the biggest Muslim athlete on the planet, undefeated, championship fight. But there’s something special about this one. On June 29, you have to buy the pay-per-view, and you have to buy the pay-per-view because there’s a chance this is the greatest comeback in combat sports history by the sport’s biggest star. That’s why you have to buy the pay-per-view.
“Or the other option, the more likely option, is I absolutely molly wop this dude and put a beatdown of biblical proportions on him, and this is the last time you ever see Conor McGregor compete inside the octagon. So either way, you have to tune in on June 29. UFC 303 is going to be the most-viewed and the biggest pay-per-view that we have ever seen for a multitude of reasons.”
Since the build toward the fight with McGregor first began with the pair serving as coaches on Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, Chandler has been consistent in his prediction. He has repeatedly stated that he thinks he puts McGregor away in the second round of the five-round fight.
It’s one thing to think about the fight when it’s not yet set, though. Now that he has a date and location, Chandler’s visions are only getting stronger, and carry a more ferocious zest.
“My Mystic Mike prediction is I finish him in the second round,” Chandler said. “Get him on his heels in the first round, make him second-guess himself in the first round, make him realize, ‘Dang, I probably should have just stayed rich and stayed out of the fight game.’ And I will start planting those seeds of doubts in the first round. By the end of the first round he will go back to his bench and go back to his corner huffing and puffing and realize that he’s about to meet his demise.
“He’s going to start looking for the exit signs and I’m going to usher him right to it. I might even hold his hand on the way to the exit sign. I might even give him a little tap on the tush on the way outside of the exit signs. That’s the plan. In the second round: KO, TKO or I take his back, and I absolutely steal his soul through his esophagus.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
