Amid ongoing speculation regarding the status of this month’s headliner between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler at UFC 303 – the latter has confirmed that as of publication, the pairing between the duo is officially still slated to take place on June 29. as planned.
McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight champion under the banner of the promotion, is set to snap an almost three year hiatus from the Octagon later this month in his return to the welterweight limit, taking on Chandler in a main event atop UFC 303 in the promotion’s pay-per-view return to Las Vegas.
As for Chandler, the former three-time Bellator MMA lightweight kingpin has been sidelined for almost two years himself, most recently dropping a third round rear-naked choke defeat to Conor McGregor’s common-foe, Dustin Poirier at Madison Square Garden.
Michael Chandler confirms UFC 303 fight with Conor McGregor
And amid continued speculation regarding their scheduled bout at UFC 303, following the cancellation of a pre-fight press conference in Dublin on Monday morning, Chandler insists all systems are a-go for the pair to share the Octagon on June 29. at the T-Mobile Arena as planned.
“I got this fight coming up,” Michael Chandler said during an appearance on The Pivot Podcast. “Hope – eh, yeah. Allegedly. No we – yeah, the fight’s happening. Obviously, where we are right now – yeah, there’s a lot of speculation, but the fight is on, June 29. It’s happening.”
Earlier this week, reports emerged that there was currently “great positivity” that McGregor and Chandler would fight as scheduled at UFC 303 – with a sense of “optimism” that the welterweight pairing would remain intact.
Across social media, ex-two-weight champion, McGregor has remained tight-lipped on his return to combat sports, posting lengthy footage of him sparring on his official Instagram account this morning – after sharing a picture of himself in a medical examination office earlier this week.
What are your thoughts on the fiasco surrounding Conor McGregor and UFC 303?