Michael Chandler’s next fight won’t be against Conor McGregor.
Chandler has put his hopes of facing former two-division champ McGregor on the back burner, instead pursuing a fight against Charles Oliveira in hopes of climbing back into the lightweight division’s title mix.
The fight, which was first revealed in a post by Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports and later confirmed by MMA Junkie, is joining UFC’s November 16th pay-per-view card from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA. The fight is expected to be five rounds in the co-main event spot.
The recent development ends Chandler’s more than year-long wait to face McGregor, although it doesn’t mean a clash between them will never happen. Per Barstool’s Fox, who initially broke the fight, the option for Chandler to face McGregor could remain possible after his fight in November.
In a video released on Friday, Chandler explained that he could have a few options on his table if successful against Oliveira later this year, one of them being a fight against “The Notorious”: “I can choose to go fight Islam [Makhachev] or Arman [Tsarukyan]. I believe it’s going to be Islam. Or, if Conor [McGregor] can finally get his house in order and put together a training camp and show up to a fight, maybe I go fight Conor and we finish ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31.'”
Since early 2023, Chandler has been hyping up a fight against McGregor. Last year they served as coaches on the reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter,” building their rivalry and preparing fans for a future clash between the two.
The duo were expected to meet as part of UFC’s “International Fight Week” card this year, although the bout ended up falling through after McGregor suffered a toe injury in training.
The wait for a fight against McGregor has kept Chandler out of the cage for a significant amount of time. When 38-year-old Chandler returns at UFC 309, he’ll be ending a two-year absence from competition. He’ll be trying to earn his first win in even more time, as his last fight was a third-round submission defeat to Dustin Poirier.
The UFC 309 booking gives Chandler a chance to avenge the first loss he ever took in the promotion. Oliveira previously beat him on a May 2021 show, stopping him in the second round of a fight with strikes.
Former lightweight champ Oliveira is coming off a split decision loss from earlier this year against Arman Tsarukyan, one of the division’s top contenders. Despite the loss, he remains one of the best names in the weight class, currently sitting in second place in the division’s official standings.
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