Conor McGregor v Michael Chandler confirmed for UFC 303

The fight will take place on June 29th in Las Vegas.

Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the octagon on June 29th when he takes on Michael Chandler at UFC 303.

UFC President Dana White confirmed that McGregor's return was imminent following UFC 300 last night, and revealed that the bout would take place during International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

The contest will be held at 170 pounds marking McGregor's return to the Welterweight division for the first time since he faced Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone in 2020.

A former two-weight UFC champion, McGregor hasn't fought since July 2021 when he suffered a horrific leg injury in defeat to Dustin Poirier.

Since then, a rivalry between McGregor and Chandler has blossomed with the two coaching opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter reality series in 2023. A bout between the pair was expected in 2023, but a myriad of issues prevented the fight from taking place.

In recent times, McGregor has criticised the UFC for seemingly delaying his return to competition and claimed in an interview last month that he hadn't heard from the organisation regarding a potential fight.

Days later, the Irishman indicated that the issues between himself and the UFC had been sorted and that a return to fighting was imminent.

McGregor made his UFC debut in 2013 and quickly rose through the ranks to become Featherweight Champion just two years later. With his charisma and penchant for knockouts, McGregor soon cemented his place as the most popular and profitable star in MMA history.

Since winning the lightweight title in 2016 to become the first simultaneous two-weight champion, McGregor's fighting career has taken a downward turn, with victory over Cerrone in 2020 his only win in the past eight years.

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