UFC Hall Of Famer Makes Bold Prediction For Conor McGregor’s Return Fight
It appears as if Conor McGregor is finally close to fighting again, and Daniel Cormier thinks he knows exactly when the Irishman should return and who he should face.
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“The Notorious” hasn’t stepped into the Octagon since a broken leg ended his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor’s resistance to reentering the USADA testing pool appeared to be a major obstacle in the way of his return, but the 35-year-old officially rejoined that program shortly before the UFC announced it would be parting ways with USADA at the start of next year.
There’s been plenty of speculation around when McGregor will fight again as well as who he’ll face in the Octagon for his return fight, and Cormier has suggested that the former two-division champion should headline UFC 300 opposite Michael Chandler.
McGregor hasn't stepped into the cage since 2021.
(Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports)
“UFC 100 had Brock [Lesnar], right? With Georges St-Pierre and all those guys,” Cormier said on DC & RC. “UFC 200 had Brock – it was supposed to be me and [Jon] Jones also – but it ended up being me, Anderson Silva, Brock, all these guys. Big names. UFC 300 has to have a name like that…I think you have to have a Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler. I think Michael Chandler gets his shot now, in the main event.”
Anticipation for McGregor’s return reached a fever pitch earlier this year when he and Chandler appeared as opposing coaches on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, and the expectation was that the two men would meet in the cage following the conclusion of the show.
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With “The Notorious” unable to return until 2024 there’s understandably been some questions about whether or not the Chandler fight might be scrapped, but if that matchup does happen then Cormier feels it would be a massive milestone in Chandler’s decorated career.
Chandler has made the most of his time with the UFC.
(Ed Mulholland/USA TODAY Sports)
“Michael Chandler will headline UFC 300, how crazy is that?...Conor McGregor will fight him, that will elevate him to a place where he’s going to be a trivia question. For the rest of his life, ‘Who headlined UFC 300?’ It’ll be Michael Chandler.”
“Iron” has remained committed to the idea of fighting McGregor even as the Irishman has issued callouts to a number of other fighters on the UFC roster in recent months. Chandler is coming off his own loss to Poirier at UFC 281 last year, but since joining the UFC from Bellator he’s only fought the promotion’s top lightweights and challenged for the division’s belt at UFC 262.
There are still no concrete details available for UFC 300, but there’s no doubt the UFC will make sure the card is a must-watch affair that will likely feature multiple title fights and some of the promotion's biggest names.
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