Conor McGregor confirms next UFC bout, ahead of official announcement

Patrick McCarry

“The Mac is back.”

Conor McGregor has confirmed an agreement has been made with the Ultimate Fighting Championship for his next bout.

The full details, he said, will soon be announced by the promotion but Michael Chandler, the former Bellator lightweight champion, is the confirmed opponent. It is likely that the fight would headline UFC 303, in Las Vegas, at the end of June, with McGregor saying he would prefer three rounds, as opposed to five.

McGregor is currently promoting the movie Road House, in which he stars, but told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that he is heading into fight camp soon and ‘can’t act the bollocks now’ because Chandler is ‘going to trying to be swinging bombs at me’.

Chandler and McGregor were coaches in last year’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter, and a bout was initially planned for December before delays and contract disputes put it on ice. McGregor was keen to front the upcoming UFC 300 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas but the promotion know a McGregor headliner virtually sells itself.

“The call has been made and we’re a go. This means this summer, the Mac is back. So with I’m happy with my time I’ve got in the lead-up to it, I’m happy with where I’m at, and everything just works out in God’s name. And I’m ecstatic where I’m at. I’ve got great news the other day.”

When McGregor recently spoke with JOE (watch below), he said he was open to a role in any Peaky Blinders movies or spin-offs and admitted he was supposed to appear in Vikings but opted to focus on his fighting career. It was not until he broke his leg in a controversial loss to Dustin Poirier that he revisited the idea of acting.

Conor McGregor reveals two-fight dream scenario

During his interview with Ariel Helwani, Conor McGregor said he has two fights left on his current UFC contract. He listed out his dream scenario for fights, this summer and in September.

The Dubliner referred to how boxers Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker have both looked sharper with more frequent fights. “Consistency breeds quality,” he said, “so I’m coming in here, years out of the game.

“Now I’m sparring and fighting and I feel good and sharp, but I’m going to have to get my in-league sharpness, and that’s going to have to come through the things. So the weight has not been discussed. I know I had that little buzz [about fighting welterweight, on ‘X’] – I haven’t discussed the weight. To be honest, I haven’t jumped on weigh-in scales since the [Dustin Poirier] fight, the last fight.

“Since I weighed in on the last one, I have not touched the scales, not once. So I don’t even [know], I’ll have to go through all that. And then rounds, maybe I might say them, ‘Look, I’m just going three rounds, lads, for this one, and I want to just wet my beak.’

“Because I’ll do three three rounds really nicely now. And rather than pushing through to get to five — it’s just, I feel if I push right now to walk toward five full fitness rounds, I feel like the first three rounds wouldn’t be as sharp as I could get them. So I’d rather sharpen the blade with three, and go in nice and sharp and fresh, get the feel, get the fight. Chandler is going to come for it, Chandler is going to come at me, he’s going to want to try and engage and come at me. He’s going to have to, and that’s his style. So I think three is a lovely one.”

After that comeback fight, McGregor wants to close out a fighting trilogy with a man he calls ‘a legend of the game’, Nate Diaz.

McGregor proposed headlining UFC 306 at the Sphere, in Las Vegas, on September 14. The bout is the second time the UFC will host a ‘Noche’ event to mark Mexican Independence Day (September 16).

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