Michael Chandler insists he will fight Conor McGregor in 2025
The American is adamant that he will still fight McGregor next year.
Michael Chandler insists that he will still fight Conor McGregor in 2025.
The pair were due to face off in June, however, a foot injury for McGregor ruled him out of that contest. Efforts to reschedule the fight for late 2024 have been rebuffed by UFC President Dana White, and after waiting two years for a crack at McGregor, Chandler has moved on and has agreed to fight Charles Oliveira in December.
However, despite his new opponent, Chandler is adamant that a fight with McGregor will still take place in 2025. The veteran insists that while McGregor isn't his next opponent, he will be McGregor's.
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"I've always given my opponents a ton of respect. There's a difference between booking a fight with Conor McGregor, and everyone else in the entire sport.
"There's different dates, locations, that you put Conor McGregor on. It's different, and there's a lot of layers. I love the fight against Conor, and I will fight Conor in 2025. But right now we're going to go and fight and beat Charles.”
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel last week, Chandler explained how he took a 'detour' from his ultimate goal of becoming UFC champion to chase a fight with McGregor. With the Irishman in his rear-view mirror, Chandler is keen to get back to hunting UFC gold.
Predictably, McGregor hasn't taken the news too well and launched into a foul-mouthed tirade on social media when news broke of Chandler's fight with Oliveira.
The Irishman was much more subdued later that evening when he spoke to the media after attending BKFC 66 in Florida.
He said: “As far as Chandler rematching Oliveira, I’m happy with the date. It’s November. Maybe we can still do it after if they’re not going to line me up out till maybe December, January, February – one of these dates. Maybe we can still do it. I’m just out of the loop with it, you know? All I can do is carry on, doing what I’m doing. I test under the testing administration, I train daily, and that’s it. Let’s see what happens. Hopefully, it all comes to fruition.”
McGregor has underlined the extents he is going to ensure he can make his long-awaited return as he told a news conference: “I got tested this evening. I got tested today by the Drug Free Sport agency. I’m the most tested athlete on the roster by more than twice the amount. I believe I’m maybe tested 13 times, the amount of seconds it took me to finish Jose Aldo. Thirteen times.
“Actually, funny enough, Jose Aldo is No. 2 in the testing. I think he’s been tested six times. So I’ve been tested more than twice all these other athletes, yet I struggle to get a date. So, I’ve talked to Sheikh Turki (Alalshikh), and said, ‘Sheikh Turki, can you assist me here?'”
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