Conor Mc Gregor, UFC 189 World Tour London (2) – CC BY-SA
Conor McGregor has announced that he will make his UFC comeback by fighting Michael Chandler on June 29 in Las Vegas.
“I’d like to announce the return date for myself, the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor, the greatest comeback of all time will take place in Las Vegas for International Fight Week, June the 29th… and the opponent, Michael Chandler. And the weight, Mr. Chandler, 185 pounds,” the Notorious said.
Chandler answered the challenge, saying, “I always said I wanted you at your biggest, your baddest and your best. 185 would look good on me.”
It bears noting that the UFC has not officially announced a fight for McGregor or Chandler, nor have they confirmed an event for June 29. McGregor’s supposed return coincides with the usual time for the UFC’s International Fight Week, usually held in early July.
McGregor and Chandler have been heading towards a fight for a while, starting with Chandler expressing interest in fighting McGregor before they became coaches on the UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter 31.
After the show ended this year, it was anticipated they would fight, but McGregor’s status was uncertain due to questions about his drug testing and accusations of sexual assault made against him in June.
Regarding his problems with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the UFC’s drug-testing partner, its official tie-up with the UFC ends on December 31.
If the fight happens on June 29, it will be McGregor’s first bout since he broke his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. The former two-division champion hasn’t won a fight since beating Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 four years ago.
McGregor-Chandler middleweight bout expected
UFC commentator Daniel Cormier maintains that McGregor will return to fight Chandler in the middleweight division, although he personally prefers their match to take place in the welterweight class, where they both previously competed.
“It’s happening at 185,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.”
“It shouldn’t happen there. I agree that it doesn’t have the meaning that it should have (at lightweight).
Cormier also believes that McGregor will push Chandler into deciding to fight in an unfamiliar weight class, as per McGregor’s preference.
“And if that means fighting at a weight class he’s never fought at, that he doesn’t feel comfortable at, that’s what he’s going to do because he feels like it’s going to be in his favor,” said Cormier.
