Getty Conor McGregor walks in the octagon before a lightweight fight in Las Vegas. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images.
Conor McGregor dropped a hint Friday that he wants a spot atop the UFC‘s upcoming UFC 300 event April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“McGregor on 300 seals the deal,” he posted January 26 on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
McGregor, a two-weight former UFC champion, hasn’t competed in MMA since he suffered a broken leg during a doctor’s stoppage loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July, 2021.
The Irishman was always expected to miss the rest of the year but even UFC boss Dana White said in 2022 that he expected him to return to competition that year.
But yet, fight fans were made to wait. And wait. And wait.
Fast forward to 2024, and McGregor’s return — while not official — may have taken a step forward.
He has long been linked with a fire-fight against American striker Michael Chandler.
The two even filmed the reality series The Ultimate Fighter together in 2023; a show that pits two teams of fighters against one another, headed up by a known athlete as a coach. Typically, the season’s coaches fight each other at the end of the season.
McGregor and Chandler were coaches for TUF season 31 but have not yet fought.
Maybe that’s about to change.
Responding to McGregor’s post, Chandler said: “I accept,” with a handshake emoji. “See you soon.”
Chandler Is a Beast of a Fighter to Return Against
A former three-time champion at Bellator MMA, Chandler is a tough opponent for anyone, let alone a fighter who has not competed for approximately 30 months.
When he competed in Bellator, Chandler scored wins over Patricky Pitbull, Eddie Alvarez, and Benson Henderson.
The UFC signed Chandler in 2020 and the fighter debuted for the market-leading combat sports firm in 2021 against Dan Hooker at UFC 257, winning by knockout in the very first round.
Though he suffered back-to-back losses to Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, Chandler bounced back in 2022 when he finished Tony Ferguson with a front kick.
Once again, Chandler is looking to rebound from a loss as he lost his last fight to Poirier, via submission, at UFC 281 in November, 2022.
McGregor is in even more need of a win as he’s only once once since beating Alvarez to win the UFC lightweight title in 2016.
Though he finished Donald Cerrone in the first round at UFC 246 in January, 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated him in 2018 and he lost back-to-back bouts to Poirier in 2021.
If McGregor and Chandler do end up fighting at UFC 300, it would be a fitting main event for a big show that, for now, lacks a headlining match.
UFC 300 Lacks a Main Event
UFC 300 is expected to be one of the Las Vegas-based fight firm’s biggest events of the year. Though it holds numerous events in Las Vegas, the 300 event will be the first time in 2024 that a pay-per-view show lands in the Fight Capital of the World.
There is no shortage of star power, intriguing bouts, and title fights on the show already.
Here are some select matches on the fight card:
- Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan — women’s strawweight title fight
- Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway — men’s BMF title fight
- Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan — lightweight
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksander Rakic — light heavyweight
- Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling — featherweight
- Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage — middleweight
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt
- Holly Holm vs. Kayla Harrison —women’s bantamweight
- Sodiq Yusuff vs. Diego Lopes — featherweight
- Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez — women’s strawweight
- Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller — lightweight