MICHAEL CHANDLER URGES CONOR MCGREGOR TO FIGHT AMID RETIREMENT RUMOURS

McGregor hasn't fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021, and is yet to announce when he will make his return to the octagon

Michael Chandler is desperate to finally get his long-awaited fight with Conor McGregor

UFC star Michael Chandler has challenged Conor McGregor to a fight, despite the latter's recent hints at retirement.

McGregor - a former dual-weight UFC champion - hasn't fought since losing to rival Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 nearly four years ago. The Irishman suffered a nasty leg break in the clash, but has since flirted with the idea of making a return to the octagon. Despite his absence from the cage, 'The Notorious' has remained active.

As for Chandler, the UFC lightweight sensation is set to face rising 155lb contender Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314 later this month. The American fighter hasn't stepped in the cage since his loss to Charles Oliveira last November. Prior to the Oliveira clash, the former Bellator lightweight champion was waited two years for a shot at 'The Notorious.'

Both fighters were opposing coaches on TUF 31 in 2023, and it seemed they were destined to face each other in the octagon. However, an injury during training forced McGregor to withdraw from their scheduled UFC 303 showdown. Recently, the 36-year-old hinted at retiring from the sport to focus on his ambition to become the Irish president.

Chandler responded to McGregor's remarks in a chat with The Schmo, stating: "He's making that push for the President of Ireland. We'll see how true it is, or how much of a publicity stunt it is. As you guys can see, we had the TUF 31 deal, waited for the Conor fight, got the fight booked; he pulled out. Who knows if he's ever coming back? You can see by my actions of fighting Charles Oliveria in November and now Paddy Pimblett in April, I'm not sitting around waiting for Conor."

He added: "He knows his road back to the UFC goes through me. We have to finish The Ultimate Fighter 31. We still have a contract with both of our names on it, even though he was not a man of his word in showing up. First time he's ever pulled out of a fight was against me in his entire career. I don't think he wants that to be his legacy. However, if he does, I wish him well in his presidential run in Ireland. But if he comes back to the UFC, he has to fight me."

McGregor went viral after dropping some bombshell comments during a recent BKFC media event. He hinted at calling it quits from fighting, stating: "What is going on in Ireland is a travesty. Our government is the government of zero action with zero accountability. Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness."

He described the connection between the two nations, saying: "Ireland and America, we are siblings. We consider America our big sibling. So it's important for Ireland to be a peaceful, prosperous country for 40 million Irish Americans to have a place to visit, [to] come back to their home. So we wish for our relationship with the United States to continue, and we wish to be taken care of by the big bro. The United States should look after its little bro. And that's how we feel."

McGregor continued: "I've got two fights on the contract, I'm in negotiations. Last week something happened to me, I went to the White House and my heart bleeds for my country right now. So there's a lot of stuff going on back home, I'm happy with what I've done. There's something else for me that's in my gut right now and that's kind of where I'm going.''

However, McGregor seemingly quickly changed his mind as he claimed that becoming president would not stop him from fighting, but instead fuel his desire to get back in the octagon. When questioned whether he could juggle being a president and a fighter, he responded: "F*****g right I will, of course, are you crazy? That's part of why I want to do it! To be announced as the President of Ireland while having a fight? Imagine that. But for sure, hell yeah, hell yes."

- James Evans

SEAM O'MALLEY BELIEVES HE'S CLOSE TO BECOMING UFC'S BIGGEST STAR

LAS VEGAS -- Sean O'Malley believes he's very close to eclipsing Conor McGregor as the biggest star in the UFC.

The current UFC bantamweight champion will defend his championship against Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of Noche UFC at The Sphere in Las Vegas this weekend.

While the event itself is highly anticipated because of the massive production budget and is suggested to be "the greatest sporting event of all time" by UFC CEO Dana White, the fact that O'Malley was chosen to headline suggests that the promotion holds him in high regard. Should he emerge victorious, O'Malley believes the gap between him and McGregor will close significantly.

"I think I'm close [to catching Conor McGregor]," O'Malley told ESPN during Wednesday's media day. "I think Conor still has one more big fight in him, but the big question mark is if he can come back and beat Michael Chandler. I think he has one more huge fight. But if he goes out and loses his next fight, that's like six in a row or something? [His star power] has to die down eventually. Maybe not. But that's a big testament to how big of a star he is. If he loses, I'm there. I'm the guy."

McGregor has been out of action since July 2021. He was originally scheduled to face Chandler at UFC 303 in June but was forced out with a toe injury. An early 2025 return for McGregor has been targeted.

When asked what separates him from McGregor, O'Malley kept it simple.

"I fight, I'm active," O'Malley said. "Conor was good on the mic and he had a few good performances, but I'm consistent. Right now, I'm fighting a lot, so that's what I bring to the table."

McGregor was once a busy fighter. From his UFC debut in 2013 to 2016 he fought ten times, capturing championships at both featherweight and lightweight before venturing into a blockbuster boxing event with Floyd Mayweather in 2017. He lost by 10th-round stoppage but earned over $100 million. Since then, McGregor has only fought four times in the past eight years. By comparison, O'Malley, 29, made his UFC debut in 2017 and Saturday's fight with Dvalishvili will be his eighth fight in just under four years. Like McGregor, he is also targeting an eventual boxing match but suggested that it is not in his immediate plans.

"I do [think I'll box] but that's not my focus right now," he said. "I have a lot of big fights on the table after I [beat Merab]. I have said I'd fight [UFC featherweight champion] Ilia [Topuria]. There's Max [Holloway], Umar [Nurmagomedov] and Deiveson Figueiredo.

"There are a lot of options for me so it's not time to box right now. But there will be a time. Conor vs. Floyd [Mayweather] was requested by the fans. If I keep going out there and knocking guys out, it's going to get intriguing."

- Andreas Hale, ESPN

MICHAEL CHANDLER REACTS TO UPDATE ON CONNOR MCGREGOR'S RETURN: 'THE SPORT WILL MOVE ON AND THRIVE WITHOUT YOU'

Mike Kirschbaum/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Michael Chandler was certainly paying attention Tuesday night as Dana White gave his latest update on the return of Conor McGregor.

Following the first episode of Contender Series, White spoke at the post-event press conference and said that McGregor still wants to fight, but the former two-division champ’s return will be delayed until 2025 — to which McGregor responded that he wants to compete in December.

Chandler seems to have taken White’s words as a potential nail in the coffin in regards to a rebooking with McGregor, and then fired a shot McGregor’s way.

“Ah conor, the sport will move on and thrive without you,” Chandler wrote on Twitter. “Put to bed. Laid to rest. Soon a distant memory. You’ve vastly overestimated your importance inside of this game for almost a decade. Godspeed.”

Both men are looking to return from lengthy layoffs. McGregor hasn’t competed since suffering a horrific leg injury in his first-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021, while Chandler also hasn’t competed since getting stopped by Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022.

- Mike Heck

DANA WHITE: CONOR MCGREGOR- MICHAEL CHANDLER 300 UFC FIGHT OFF

McGregor and Chandler will face off June 29. [+]
ZUFFA LLC VIA GETTY IMAGES

 Conor McGregor will no longer fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White said Thursday night.

McGregor (22-6) was scheduled to headline the event but has withdrawn because of injury. It's the first time in McGregor's storied UFC career he's pulled out of a fight for any reason.

The new main event is a light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Jiří Procházka, according to White.

White also announced two more new fights to the card: Diego Lopes will face Brian Ortega in the co-main event and Carlos Ulberg will now fight Anthony Smith in a light heavyweight bout after Jamahal Hill, who was slated to fight in the co-main event, is out due to injury.

According to White, the sellout event was on pace to set a record for the UFC, with a live gate of more than $20 million. The UFC has not announced whether the nontitle welterweight bout between McGregor and Chandler will be rescheduled.

McGregor, 35, was set to return to competition for the first time since he suffered a broken leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. The former featherweight and lightweight champion has only fought four times since a blockbuster boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017.

McGregor is 1-3 in those appearances, with two losses to Poirier and a submission defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov in a 2018 title fight.

The June fight being called off is a disappointing chapter in what's become something of a saga between McGregor and Chandler. Chandler, a former champion in Bellator MMA, first called out McGregor in earnest in 2022. The UFC announced the two would coach against each other on "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series in early 2023, which went ahead as scheduled that spring. A fight date did not come together until early this year, however, for various reasons.

The UFC's former drug testing partner, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), claimed McGregor's situation led to the dissolution of its UFC program, as the promotion wanted to grant McGregor an exemption of a six-month testing requirement following his leg injury. UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell denied that assertion and demanded a public apology.

The UFC has since partnered with several other agencies to run its drug program.

McGregor, of Ireland, promised via a tweet that his return to the Octagon this year would be the start of the "Greatest Comeback in Sports History." The UFC scheduled a public news conference with McGregor and Chandler on June 3 at 3Arena in Dublin, but canceled the event just 12 hours before doors were to open, which prompted speculation on the status of the fight.

Chandler, 38, has not fought since a back-and-forth loss to Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022. He has only expressed a passing interest in potential bouts against Nate Diaz, who is currently not signed to the UFC, or BMF titleholder Max Holloway.

- Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer

MICHAEL CHANDLERS POST FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE