The UFC president ‘really likes’ a fight between McGregor and Chandler when the former champion returns from injury.
There are a lot of questions regarding Conor McGregor and his return to the Octagon, but the main one is: who should it be against?
UFC president Dana White has an idea, and it appears as though he is leaning towards a fight between McGregor and Michael Chandler. During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, White was asked if he would consider McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal given their interest in a potential fight. White previously said no to that one and remains uninterested in it, so he has shifted his focus to Chandler.
“I don’t know, I really like Chandler vs. Conor after Chandler’s last fight,” said White. “There’s plenty of fights to make, I don’t know if that’s the one, but we’ll see what the landscape looks like when Conor comes back.”
Chandler scored a ‘Knockout of the Year’ with a front kick of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 this past May. ‘Iron’ Mike went on to deliver a promo for the ages that included a call-out of McGregor. The ’Notorious’ one responded and wrote on social media that it would be a ‘firework spectacle’ for his next appearance.
White agreed, which is why he sees McGregor vs. Chandler happening in the future.
“I’m just saying after his last interview, his last fight, Conor’s ranked No. 8, he’s ranked No. 5, it makes a lot of sense right now,” said White.
McGregor is still recovering from the broken leg he suffered in his first-round technical knockout loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last July. The former two-division champion initially expected to fight again as soon as this year, but White revealed his return could actually be in early 2023.
“I think he’s getting better, he’s staring to ramp up his training some more and I’m hoping at the end of this year, early next year,” said White.