If Team McGregor had their way, “The Notorious” would be fighting at UFC 300 on April 13th. Unfortunately, UFC brass had other plans.
Conor McGregor is finally returning for another fight in the UFC, but it’s not going to be as soon as he’d have liked.
McGregor announced on social media that he’d be fighting Michael Chandler on the UFC’s big June 29th pay-per-view which anchors International Fight Week 2024. That’s six months away, which is a long time to wait considering he’s already been sitting out with an injury for two and a half years.
The endless limbo got to Conor in Saudi Arabia last weekend, and he went on a tirade over the lack of a concrete return date.
“I’m waiting. I’m waiting and I’m waiting,” he said. “My patience is wearing thin on me waiting.”
Now he has a date, but it wasn’t the one he was hoping for. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reports that Team Mac was shooting for UFC 300 on April 13th.
“McGregor wanted to fight at 300,” Helwani wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “He pushed hard for it. He was ready, I’m told. But after meeting with the brass last week they settled on June 29.”
Why wouldn’t the UFC be interested in getting McGregor back in the cage as soon as possible? It comes down to maximizing profits. In their mind, they don’t need Conor to sell UFC 300 because UFC 300 sells itself. They’d rather use McGregor to anchor another event so they get two bites at the big PPV apple.
It makes business sense, but isn’t the most fan-friendly decision — especially if UFC 300 ends up being slightly less spectacular than we’ve been anticipating. Helwani had a note on that front as well.
“As he mentioned yesterday, the plan is for Leon Edwards to defend his title at UFC 300,” he wrote. “As of now, the opponent slated to face him would be Belal Muhammad. Shavkat Rakhmonov definitely was in the mix, too.”
If that title fight doesn’t excite you, there’s still Dana White’s secret superfight to look forward to.