The MMA world had been waiting for over three years to see their hero back in the ring, but a toe injury put paid to Conor McGregor’s scheduled bout with Michael Chandler at UFC 303. Now, it appears his projected opponent has been offered a new fight, while the Irish fighter considers when his long-anticipated comeback might actually come to fruition.
Conor McGregor broke his tibia in his last appearance in the octagon, which came way back in July 2021 when he completed a second successive loss to Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas, leading to his lengthy absence from the UFC scene.
Though the Dubliner has been keeping himself busy with various activities, including getting into the acting game, it’s clear that he is at his best when doing battle. The level of interest in his projected clash with Chandler was huge, and many fans were upset at its cancellation.
As well as his fights being huge PPV successes, the MMA betting action that takes place around McGregor’s fights is fairly astounding and further proof of his pulling power. So what now for the 35-year-old with the 22-6 MMA record?
Well, it seems he has a lot of spare time on his hands as he recovers from his latest injury. During this time, he has taken to placing fairly big bets. He apparently made over $1.5 million from a bet placed on Nate Diaz to beat Jorge Masvidal. McGregor has also been placing bets on the Copa America tournament, which is taking place in the United States.
On his recovery process, McGregor opened up and tweeted;
“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t in deep pain right now watching fight week take place. Deep mental pain. Thank you for the messages of support and encouragement, my peers and fans.”
UFC president Dana White appears to have hinted that McGregor could return around November, with a possible fight at the Sphere in Las Vegas as a possible option.
Meanwhile, Michael Chandler took to Twitter to discuss his upcoming plans, stating;
"I’ve been offered Islam Makhachev in October - but if Conor McGregor's little pinky toe is ready by September, let’s do Sphere," Chandler tweeted. "Biggest sporting event in history of sports!"
Either way, if and when McGregor does return, it will be to face Chandler, with the Missouri-born fighter, with a 23-8 record, confirming as much;
“I think there’s no way he comes back to the UFC and doesn’t fight me. So if I do pivot, if there are other names being thrown out, if there are huge fights that I can go ahead and pivot and take, whenever he is ready to come back, his road back to the UFC goes straight through Nashville, Tennessee, and Michael Chandler — and that’s it.” Chandler commented.
Whatever anyone, both inside and outside the UFC, says about Conor McGregor (negative or otherwise), there is a sense that the organization needs the fighter more than he needs the UFC. This obviously puts him in a continual position of power, and you can be sure that whenever a fight gets the green light, it will be among the biggest in the championship's history.
