Conor McGregor has weighed in after UFC CEO Dana White appeared to pour cold water on the long-discussed Michael Chandler matchup.
Nearly five years removed from his last Octagon appearance, Conor McGregor continues to target a return at the UFC’s proposed White House event in June. The former two-division champion hasn’t fought since suffering a leg injury in his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, but he announced comeback plans shortly after news of the historic White House card surfaced.
For months, Michael Chandler appeared to be the most logical opponent for McGregor’s return. The two coached opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter 31 and were booked to headline UFC 303 before McGregor withdrew due to a toe injury. Recently, however, McGregor has widened the scope of potential opponents, even floating the idea of an MMA rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr., promising a lightning-fast finish.
During a recent interview with Complex, White was asked directly if Chandler remains the targeted opponent for Conor McGregor’s comeback.
“No, that was a couple of years ago,” White said.
The comment raised eyebrows, especially given how close the matchup once came to happening. White later referenced the UFC 303 cancellation, where McGregor pulled out due to injury, effectively stalling the bout.
McGregor didn’t take long to respond. In a brief but confident post on social media, he made it clear he isn’t worried about who stands across from him.
“Pick who ya want!” McGregor wrote.“The Mac sweats nothing and nobody. I’m TASTY SHOTS.”
Conor McGregor continues to search for his first UFC win since knocking out Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020. Since then, he has suffered back-to-back losses to Poirier, including the first knockout defeat of his UFC career.
Chandler, meanwhile, has struggled with consistency, dropping five of his last six bouts, most recently losing to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314. Despite that, Chandler remains hopeful that the McGregor fight will eventually materialize, though White’s comments cast fresh doubt on that possibility.
Dana White has remained cautious when discussing any potential matchups for the White House card, not just involving Conor McGregor but also other superstar names like Jon Jones.
“We’ll see if Conor’s going to come back or not,” White said. “We’ve been talking about it for a while. We’ll see how it plays out.”
As of now, the UFC has not announced any bouts for the White House event. White confirmed that matchmaking will begin only after the promotion wraps up UFC 324 on Jan. 24.
“Nothing yet,” White said. “We literally just got all the logistics done. It will be 5,000 seats on the South Lawn. Fighters will walk from the Oval Office. We’ve got all that dialed in.”
For Conor McGregor, the message remains clear: he’s ready, confident, and waiting. Whether Michael Chandler is still part of the equation, however, appears to be very much up in the air.
