Conor McGregor will be returning to the Octagon in 2024.
McGregor recently revealed he would be revealing his return date and opponent on New Year’s Eve, and he did just that. Taking to X, McGregor sent out a video revealing he will return at International Fight Week in June against Michael Chandler.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 31, 2023
“Ladies and gentlemen, a Happy New Year to you all. I’d like to announce the return date for myself, the Notorious Conor McGregor, for the greatest comeback of all time will take place in Las Vegas for International Fight Week on June 29. The opponent, Michael Chandler. And the weight, Mr. Chandler? 185 pounds (laughs),” McGregor said in his video.
To some surprise, if he is telling the truth, Conor McGregor will not be fighting at UFC 300 in April which many expected to be the case. The Irishman is the biggest star in the sport, so having him on the historic card would have made a lot of sense, but instead, the UFC is opting to have him headline their International Fight Week card on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Having Michael Chandler as the opponent was always the most logical option, especially after the two coached TUF against one another. However, recently, Chandler has spoken publicly thinking McGregor was trying to avoid him and trying to get the Nate Diaz, trilogy. But, after all the back-and-forth, McGregor and Chandler will finally share the Octagon this summer.
Conor McGregor (22-6) hasn’t fought since July of 2021 when he broke his leg in the trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Before that, the Irishman suffered a knockout loss to Poirier at UFC 257 in his return to the Octagon after a year-long break following his first-round TKO over Donald Cerrone.
McGregor is the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion and holds notable wins over Eddie Alvarez, Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier, Jose Aldo, and Chad Mendes among others.
Michael Chandler (23-8) is coming off a submission loss to Dustin Poirier in November of 2022 to drop him to 2-3 in the UFC. Before the loss to Poirier, Chandler scored a KO win over Tony Ferguson to snap his two-fight losing streak as he dropped a decision to Justin Gaethje, and was knocked out by Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title. In his promotional debut, he TKO’d Dan Hooker on the same card Poirier knocked out McGregor.
Chandler is the former Bellator lightweight champion and holds notable wins over Benson Henderson, Eddie Alvarez, Patricky Pitbull, and Brent Primus among others.
