04 February 2023 , 15:12
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Conor McGregor's UFC return is official as the former two-weight champion will face Michael Chandler later this year.
UFC boss Dana White announced the news in a special announcement on Saturday afternoon. McGregor and Chandler will coach against each other on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, with filming of the series beginning in May, before fighting at a yet-to-be-announced date. McGregor is without a UFC win in over three years and broke his leg against bitter rival Dustin Poirier in his last fight.
"We just confirmed the coaches for season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter. Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler will go head-to-head as coaches of The Ultimate Fighter," White said in the announcement. "Team McGregor vs Team Chandler. This season premieres Tuesday May 30 and runs through Tuesday August 15 on ESPN and ESPN+."
It's safe to assume that McGregor's comeback fight will take place after mid-August, as that's when the final episode of his The Ultimate Fighter series with Chandler airs on TV. White said of the fight: "At the end of the season, McGregor and Chandler will fight on pay-per-view, I don't have a date or venue for that but we will announce it soon."
Chandler has been calling for a fight against McGregor since making his UFC debut on the undercard of the Irishman's defeat to Poirier in their 2021 rematch. The former Bellator champion is 2-3 in the promotion but has exclusively fought top opponents with all three of his losses coming against title contenders in Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
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The fight will likely take place at welterweight as McGregor has packed on a considerable amount of mass and is unlikely to ever drop lower than 170lb again. 'Notorious' is plotting a pursuit of his UFC third world title after previously picking up gold at featherweight and lightweight, with just one win likely to land him back in discussions for a shot at the belt.
McGregor coached season 22 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2015 just weeks after knocking out Chad Mendes to win his first UFC world title. The Irishman hinted he would return for a second stint on the UFC's reality TV series when posted a picture of himself during the show's filming and wrote: "This is a snap from the original ultimate fighter house. This photo was just before the show. I have just been offered to coach this role again. I like it. It is full immersion which is needed."