Despite talk of a December fight with Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor will not fight in 2024. UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the news during a post-fight press conference for Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday night.
McGregor was originally set to fight Chandler at UFC 303 in late June but pulled out in the weeks leading up to the event after suffering a broken pinky toe in training. The pair served as opposing coaches on season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which began filming in February 2023.
The fight between the two, which is to serve as McGregor’s return from a broken tibia suffered in his UFC 264 trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier in July 2021, was delayed several times before finally being made for UFC 303. After McGregor pulled out, he made several references to finally taking on Chandler in December. White seemed to officially put the nail in the coffin of that idea on Tuesday while speaking to media.
“We talked. We talked,” White said. “We didn’t meet up but we talked, and yeah, he wants to fight. So we’ll figure it out. [But] not this year. He won’t fight this year.”
Since defeating Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 to capture the lightweight title and become the first fighter in UFC history to simultaneously hold titles in two divisions — he held the featherweight title entering the fight — McGregor has only amassed a 1-3 UFC record with three stoppage losses and the lone win against Donald Cerrone in the middle of Cerrone’s career-ending six-fight losing skid. During that stretch, McGregor also lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match, faced legal trouble numerous times and also teased multiple retirements from competition.
Despite that, McGregor remains the top star in MMA and his return is eagerly anticipated by fight fans.
Chandler is on his own 1-3 run over his four most recent fights and has seen his career stall out while waiting for the McGregor fight to finally materialize despite being one of the sport’s most notable action fighters. He has not fought since a November 2022 submission loss to Poirier.
