Photo Credit: Conor McGregor (Instagram)
Conor McGregor is arguably the biggest draw in MMA, headlining all the top five highest-grossing pay-per-views in UFC history. When the Notorious Irish star is on a PPV card, the entire world watches. Suffering losses in his last two fights against Dustin Poirier in 2021, The Notorious One has been away from the Octagon for three years, creating uncertainty over his future.
Despite his prolonged absence from UFC, Conor McGregor is still fighting and has the active status of a UFC fighter. Even though the 36-year-old announced retirement from the fight game twice on social media in 2019 and 2020 respectively, he didn’t truly retire.
After getting humiliated in the bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, he publicly announced his first retirement in 2019. However, UFC President Dana White refused to believe it, saying he would come back to the cage to fight.
Dana turned out to have been right after Conor couldn’t turn down the lucrative deal to fight Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, whom he comprehensively beat in the first round. Despite announcing another retirement in October 2020, he returned to fight at UFC 257 vs Dustin Poirier, making it their anticipated rematch after seven years.
Dustin settled their score to 1-1 after handing McGregor his first knockout loss of his whole MMA career. With retribution in mind, Conor faced his arch-rival again in a trilogy, ending up with the same outcome after breaking his leg during the fight.
Conor McGregor Was Slated To Take On Michael Chandler At UFC 303
The Notorious One was scheduled to return to the Octagon this year against Michael Chandler. He featured on the ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ show against Michael Chandler’s team, planting seeds for the fight in 2023. With the words of exchange between McGregor and Chandler, it was evident that UFC was gradually setting up a future fight between the two men.
Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler was slated to take place on June 29, 2024, headlining UFC 303. However, two weeks before the bout, it was canceled. The former UFC Featherweight and Lightweight Champion reportedly suffered a toe injury, forcing him to opt out of the match.
After the match was called off, there was no news or rumor of the big match-up. Back in August 2024, Dana talked about Conor McGregor’s next match and future, saying he had a conversation with The Notorious One, who was willing to fight.
The UFC President further confirmed that Conor is unlikely to fight in 2024. Moreover, it is already the end of November. As per him, after talking to the Irish Champion, things should be sorted, but he won’t be stepping foot in the Octagon in 2024.
Seeing Dana’s statement, Conor, however, was quick to give a reply on social media platform X. He later deleted the tweet. Taking on X, the Notorious One wrote,
“Tell Dana and UFC WE WANT DECEMBER! WE DESERVE DECEMBER”
Is Conor McGregor Still Fighting Michael Chandler In UFC?
After the cancellation of the McGregor bout in June this year, Michael Chandler stepped up in the octagon at UFC 309. In the co-main event, he faced Charles Olivera in the Lightweight division.
In a fierce battle of five rounds, Olivera dominated Chandler, especially in the first four rounds. With no sign of giving up, McGregor’s potential future opponent showed the lion’s heart and came close to knocking out the Brazilian in the fifth round.
Following the match and loss, Chandler dropped a promo in his trademark style, calling out Conor McGregor for a potential fight and asking him to return to action. During the Octagon interview with Joe Rogan, he said,
“Conor McGregor, if you can ever get your house back in order while using real professionals have been keeping the octagon warm. We wonder where you have been, Conor. Come back and beat me if you can.”
Taking Chandler’s Octagon interview into account, McGregor’s next opponent is likely to be the 38-year-old once he decides to make his big return to UFC. Similar to Conor, Michael is on a two-fight losing streak. While Charles defeated him in his last bout, his second last loss was against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281. Therefore, their momentum would be evenly matched for the fight whenever it happens, seemingly in 2025.
Avik Das is an English Literature graduate with an experience of over six years as a professional writer. He has written for renowned publications such as The Sportster, Sportskeeda, Pinkvilla, and The Things
