Forget Noah. Where’s Michael?
UFC 303 features the return of Conor McGregor.
“Notorious” is the biggest pay-per-view (PPV) draw in the history of MMA, by a ridiculously-wide margin, which is probably why the promotion didn’t feel the need to include opponent Michael Chandler in the UFC 303 “Foggy Dew” teaser trailer that aired during the UFC 301 broadcast last weekend in Rio.
That’s no disrespect to Chandler — McGregor could be fighting a broomstick in the UFC 303 headliner and fans would probably still watch. Part of that has to do with the fact that we don’t know what we’re going to get, because McGregor has been sidelined since summer 2021 with a broken leg.
“I don’t need to be getting into a firefight with a guy that has a bigger rifle than me,” Chandler, 37, told Shawn Ryan. “I would venture to say that his time out of the cage has lent itself to his timing not being what it used to be, his movement not being what it used to be, his reflexes not being what they used to be. He’s been out of the cage for what will be three years by the time we fight.”
Their five-round fight will be contested at welterweight.
Chandler has been (voluntarily) riding the pine since his submission loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in late 2022 so he may have some timing issues of his own. His “red panty night” was originally planned for the UFC 296 fight card to wrap up TUF 31; however, a war with drug testers kept McGregor (temporarily) at bay.
UFC 303 takes place on Sat., June 29, 2024 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, part of the promotion’s International Fight Week. Elsewhere on the card, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill will make a quick turnaround to battle surging 205-pound power puncher Khalil Rountree.
For the latest UFC 303 fight card and PPV lineup click here.