Conor McGregor will return to the UFC to fight Michael Chandler during International Fight Week in Las Vegas on June 29 he announced on social media on New Year’s Eve.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 31, 2023
While the UFC has not officially announced the bout, or even an event at this point, McGregor shared that the fight will take place at 185 pounds. McGregor’s news comes after the two were coaches on the Ultimate Fighter and follows months of speculation about his eventual return.
McGregor has been out of action since breaking his leg in the first round against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. The former two-division champion has lost three of his last four fights, including a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov followed by a knockout win against Donald Cerrone, and two consecutive losses to Poirier.
Chandler’s luck hasn’t been much better since joining the UFC after dominating Bellator. After knocking out Dan Hooker in his debut, he’s suffered three losses in four fights, with a a knockout loss to Charles Oliveira in a title fight, a decision loss to Justin Gaethje, a knockout win over Tony Ferguson, and a submission loss to Dustin Poirier.
Despite their rough runs of recent, both fighters are clearly still a draw, and there’s no better setup to set things back in the right direction than International Fight Week.