Again confirming he is set to make his long-anticipated return to the Octagon this summer, ex-UFC champion, Conor McGregor has called for a three round bout against rival, Michael Chandler in his comeback fight – in a bid to “wet his beak” amid a period of three years away from the sport.
McGregor, a former undisputed featherweight champion and lightweight titleholder under the banner of the organization, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 264 back in 2021, suffering a fractured left tibia and fibula in a first round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier.
And claiming earlier this week that plans for a summer return have been officially blue-skied by UFC brass, McGregor confirmed he would be drawing former lightweight title challenger and Ultimate Fighter 31 rival, Chandler in his first outing since his horrific leg injury.
Conor McGregor calls for three round fight in UFC return
Weighing up the weight division he plans to compete at – despite claiming at the beginning of the year his idea of fighting at the middleweight limit against Chandler, Dublin striker, McGregor revealed he wants to potentially fight in a three round bout against the Kill Cliff FC staple – instead of five rounds, in a bid to get his feet wet in the Octagon once more.
“I’m coming in here, years out of the game,” Conor McGregor told MMA Fighting. “Now, I’m sparring and fighting, and I feel good and sharp, but I’m gonna have to, you know, get my in-league sharpness. And that’s gonna have to come through the thing, so.”
“The weight and all has not been discussed, I know had the little joke, the little buzz [with Michael Chandler],” Conor McGregor continued. “To be honest, I haven’t even f*cking checked the – I haven’t jumped on a weighing scales since the fight – the last fight, since I weighed in on the last fight. I did not touch a scales. …And then, rounds. Maybe I might say to them [the UFC], ‘Look, I’m just doing three rounds, lads, for this one. And I wanna just wet me beak.’ I’ll do three rounds really nicely now, rather than pushing through to get to five.
Do you expect to see Conor McGregor fight this summer?