The Mac is finally back!
After UFC 300, one of the biggest combat sports of the year, finished Saturday, the UFC boss Dana White waxed lyrical about the show at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
But a stacked event, filled with drama, intrigue, and one of the most iconic knockouts in MMA history — when Max Holloway iced Justin Gaethje with just one second left on the clock — the market-leading combat sports firm had one more ace card up its sleeve.
The big events, for the UFC, will just keep on running, White confirmed, as he formally announced Conor McGregor‘s return to the Octagon when talking to media at the post-fight press conference.
On Saturday, June 29 atop the UFC 303 pay-per-view show in the same arena, McGregor will fight long-time rival Michael Chandler.
Here are the details:
- Fight: McGregor vs. Chandler
- Weight: 170-pounds
- Venue: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
MYSTIC MAC IS BACK 🔮🇮🇪
@TheNotoriousMMA takes on @MikeChandlerMMA at 170lbs! #UFC303
Everything White Said About The Upcoming Event
McGregor and Chandler’s box office bout wasn’t White’s only announcement.
White also confirmed the main event, and co-main event, for a pay-per-view event on June 1 in Newark, New Jersey.
- Islam Makhachev to defend the UFC lightweight championship against Dustin Poirier
- Sean Strickland to fight Paulo Costa
That’s a helluva one-two combination for UFC 302.
Then White dropped his bombshell for UFC 303 later that same month — “Conor vs. Chandler, five rounds, 170-pounds,” said White.
On a fight that has been talked about for more than a year, White said: “It’s not that we’ve been working on it for ages, there’s all kinds of things that go on behind-the-scenes.
“And it’s all about timing,” added White.
“Chandler has been ready, but Conor hasn’t been ready. We talked about this recently.
“He had a lot of obligations that he had to deal with. What you don’t want him doing is accepting a fight when he has a ton of obligations and can’t train for a fight.”
On McGregor and how good it is to welcome the superstar back to the sport, White said: Conor is a die-hard UFC guy and will be until he retires and beyond.”
How McGregor vs. Chandler Came to Be
McGregor and Chandler both served as rival coaches on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ — a television series that aired in 2023.
Typically, a well-known UFC star prepares a squad of fighters to compete against a squad from a rival coach. After the end of the season, the coaches fight one another.
The Irishman and the American have long been linked with each other, but a bout has only been made official on April 13, when White finally broke the news.
The main event tops a card otherwise known as International Fight Week, held during one of the hottest weeks in Las Vegas, which features numerous promotional events including the UFC Hall of Fame.
Details regarding the rest of the card have slowly been released of late and the event is by no means yet complete.
However, here are notable bouts to date:
- Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler — welterweight
- Andre Fili vs. Cub Swanson — featherweight
- Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs. Gillian Robertson — women’s strawweight
- Rei Tsuruya vs. Carlos Hernandez — flyweight
A price point for the pay-per-view has not yet been set but will air on ESPN.
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UFC Confirms Conor McGregor’s Huge Comeback for the Summer