The wait for Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon will be over on June 29. At the UFC 300 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White announced that McGregor's long-awaited fight with Michael Chandler would take place in the main event of UFC 303.
McGregor, still the UFC's biggest star, has not fought since July 2021, when he lost his second consecutive fight to Dustin Poirier. That UFC 264 fight came to a brutal end when McGregor suffered a broken tibia in a fight he was already losing.
McGregor followed up his injury layoff with a stint coaching "The Ultimate Fighter" opposite Chandler in 2023, with the fight expected to follow closely on the heels of the season wrapping up. Instead, the fight hit countless delays, even as both fighters, White and the UFC repeatedly teased the showdown.
BREAKING 🚨@MAKHACHEVMMA vs @DustinPoirier - #UFC302@SStricklandMMA vs @BorrachinhaMMA - #UFC302 @TheNotoriousMMA vs @MikeChandlerMMA - #UFC303 pic.twitter.com/oGbgtoyHho
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2024
On Saturday night, one day after White told media at a Power Slap event that there would be no announcement of McGregor's return at UFC 300 and anyone claiming otherwise was engaged in "internet bulls---," White finally delivered the news that the fight was ready to go ahead and headline the International Fight Week card from Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.
McGregor vs. Chandler will be contested at the 170-pound welterweight limit. McGregor has not fought at lightweight since losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018, while Chandler has competed at lightweight since 2011.
While both popular fighters, McGregor and Chandler are both 1-3 in their four most recent outings, making the fight less impactful in the title picture than it will be successful at the box office.
