Conor McGregor agrees to fight Michael Chandler as UFC return edges closer

Both McGregor and Chandler would enter the bout on the back of two straight losses

Alex Pattle
Tuesday 09 November 2021 14:14 GMT
Comments
Italian DJ accuses Conor McGregor of 'violent and dangerous' attack

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Conor McGregor has agreed to a future bout with Michael Chandler, following the latter’s instant classic against Justin Gaethje on Saturday.

In the main-card opener at UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden, Chandler suffered a unanimous decision defeat by Gaethje in a fight of the year contender.

The result in New York City saw Chandler’s UFC record slip to 1-2 since the former Bellator champion’s arrival in the promotion late last year.

The American enjoyed a successful UFC debut in January as he knocked out Dan Hooker in the first round, with that bout taking place on the undercard of McGregor’s second meeting with Dustin Poirier – which the Irishman lost via second-round knockout.

Chandler then challenged for the vacant lightweight title in May, almost finishing Charles Oliveira in the first round, only to be stopped himself early in the second.

Like McGregor, who broke his leg in his trilogy bout with Poirier this July, Chandler has now fallen to back-to-back defeats. The 35-year-old hurt Gaethje multiple times at UFC 268 but was also bloodied and staggered en route to a unanimous-decision loss.

In the aftermath of that fight, Chandler has been typically humble but has also taken to Twitter to call out McGregor.

On Monday, Chandler shared a mock-up image of a face-off between himself and former dual-weight champion McGregor. The caption simply read: “2022.”

McGregor replied to the tweet, writing: “I’m down at some stage for sure. Great fight the other night Mike, congrats!”

Chandler responded: “Thank you sir. It would be my pleasure. See you soon.”

McGregor is without a win since January 2019, when he stopped Donald Cerrone within 40 seconds in a welterweight contest.

The 33-year-old is expected to be fit to return to the Octagon in the first half of next year.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in