02 January 2024 , 11:00
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Michael Chandler took a dig at Conor McGregor just hours after their UFC clash was finally given a date.
Former two-weight world champion McGregor will make his UFC return against Chandler on June 29th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. McGregor has been out of action for over two years after suffering a broken leg against Dustin Poirier in July of 2021 and at times it looked like his comeback against Chandler would never take place.
The UFC rivals, who coached against each other on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, were expected to fight last December before McGregor's return was delayed by his absence from the USADA drug-testing pool. UFC 300 in April was then targeted as the next potential date, but UFC boss Dana White insisted McGregor wouldn't fight until the summer.
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Chandler has now begun the trash talk ahead of their fight as he tweeted to McGregor: "I always said I wanted you at your biggest, your baddest and your best. 185 would look good on me. Don’t forget who was a natural featherweight who started his UFC career fighting cherry-picked bantamweights."
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McGregor promised fans a fight announcement on New Year's Day and he stuck to his word by tweeting a video in which he said: "Ladies and gentlemen, a Happy New Year to you all. I would like to announce the return date for myself. The Notorious Conor McGregor. For the greatest comeback of all time, will take place in Las Vegas for International Fight Week on June 29th. The opponent, Michael Chandler. The weight, Mr Chandler. 185lb."
McGregor and Chandler have never fought at middleweight in their MMA careers and the UFC is yet to officially announce whether the fight will take place at the weight class. The Irishman teased a bout at middleweight against Chandler during their time on The Ultimate Fighter by telling his rival "he'll do what he's told."
Chandler has been waiting patiently on the sidelines for his shot at McGregor since being tapped out over a year ago by Poirier in a back and forth fight. McGregor was knocked out for the first time in his career when he first rematched Poirier three years ago before breaking his leg while stepping back from a kick in the trilogy to go 1-2 against him.