Michael Chandler unsure Conor McGregor will return to UFC

Michael Chandler is as optimistic a character as you'll find on the UFC roster, but even he is starting to doubt whether he'll ever see Conor McGregor inside the UFC Octagon again.

Chandler appeared as a guest on The Ariel Helwani Show, where he discussed a range of topics, including the will-he, won't-he saga over McGregor's UFC career, and whether he'll ever set foot in the Octagon ever again.

It's a situation that has seen Chandler miss out on valuable fight time as he sat and waited for McGregor to honor his signed agreement to face him. But, after their original fight date at UFC 303 last summer fell through after McGregor sustained an injury to his pinky toe, the bout still hasn't been rebooked.

The lack of a confirmed, rearranged bout between the pair – especially given the short recovery timeline for a broken pinky toe – has led many to doubt whether McGregor will ever return to the UFC.

And, despite his usually upbeat, positive demeanor, even Chandler has been forced to admit that, if he follows his head over his heart, it's looking unlikely that McGregor will return.

"I'm the name. His road back to the UFC goes through me. It goes straight through Nashville, Tennessee, and Michael Chandler," he said.

"We've got to finish The Ultimate Fighter 31 – that is the UFC's sentiment. I think it's even his sentiment. We've tweeted a little bit back and forth here and there.

"He said, 'I'm a man of my word.' Well, if you're a man of your word, then there's only one guy that you're going to fight when you come back to the UFC, the guy who had a contract with your name on it, the guy who signed on the dotted line, and still to this day, has never missed weight and never pulled out of a fight.

"So, could be 2025, could be this summer, could be this fall, could be this winter, could be 2026 – I don't know."

But, when Helwani asked Chandler whether, in his heart of hearts, he sees McGregor coming back to the UFC, the former Bellator lightweight champion admitted that his faith in the Irishman's return is starting to wane.

"Heart of hearts is tough man, because I think heart of hearts says that Conor is coming back at some point," he said.

"But, if I'm a betting man, if I'm using my brain, I wouldn't put money on it. But that's where I'm at today, right now.

"Obviously I'm focused on a blonde dude from Liverpool. So I think my heart of heart says I'm not sure, for sure. But Conor's got to come back to his first love, the one thing that has given him every single thing, every single shiny object that he is currently chasing, and taking all these side quests and side jobs and all these different things – every single thing that he has can be tied back in some way or another to the UFC, the opportunity that they gave him, the push that they gave him.

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"And, does he want his legacy to be, 'Yeah, my last fight, I broke my leg, and I touted the greatest comeback in combat sports history. I fooled everybody for a couple years, and then signed on the dotted line to fight Michael Chandler, and then pulled out of the fight never to return again?'

"I don't think he wants his legacy to be that. Then again, I haven't walked a mile in that man's shoes, so I'm not going to say what he is thinking. But my heart of hearts says he's coming back at some point. But if I was a betting man, I ain't putting money on it."

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Michael Chandler unsure Conor McGregor will return to UFC: 'I wouldn't put money on it'

By Simon Head | Feb 25, 2025