Conor McGregor confirms UFC future and ideal next opponent

McGregor was meant to fight Michael Chandler this year but the contest was delayed due to the Irishman’s broken toe

Conor McGregor watches on ringside at Anthony Joshua v Daniel Dubois (Getty Images)

Conor McGregor has vowed to return to the octagon next year with hopes of fighting twice in 2025.

It was announced in February 2023 that McGregor would fight Michael Chandler next, though no date was confirmed for the bout – until this April. After UFC 300, supremo Dana White said McGregor would face Chandler in June.

However, McGregor suffered a broken toe, delaying the fight indefinitely. Then, last weekend, Chandler announced he would take on Charles Oliveira in November. That bout is a rematch of Oliveira’s 2021 win against the American, which came via TKO.

McGregor expressed his frustration at the situation but is adamant he will fight next year.

“It will be 2025,” he told DAZN at Wembley Stadium, attending Anthony Joshua’s stunning defeat by Daniel Dubois. “We will see. My opponent that I had scheduled... it is what it is. I take it on board and rock on. My job is to go to the gym and be in shape, whenever it is and wherever it is. I will be 100 per cent ready.

“I must get two fights in 2025. It’s the promised land. Who knows (who the next opponent will be). It does not matter. Whoever, let’s see. I’d like it to be Chandler. I wish him well and see where it goes.”

McGregor, 36, last fought in 2021, sustaining a broken leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier. Six months earlier, McGregor lost to Poirier via knockout.

Chandler, 38, has also been inactive while waiting for McGregor; the American last fought in November 2022, losing to Poirier via submission.

Explaining his frustration at this week’s developments, McGregor said: “I’ve been tested more than twice than these other [UFC] athletes, yet I struggle to get a date.”

McGregor said he had even asked Turki Al-Sheikh, the Saudi adviser behind the Gulf state’s boxing endeavours, for help.

Saudi Arabia recently began staging and funding MMA events, including UFC 306 in Las Vegas earlier this month.