Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler locked in for UFC 303, International Fight Week

The news the MMA world has been waiting for finally arrived, with Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon officially confirmed.

The former two-division UFC champion hasn’t fought since suffering a horrific broken leg in his trilogy fight defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 back in July 2021, but is now back to full fitness and eager to make his Octagon return.

“The Notorious” coached opposite former Bellator lightweight champion Chandler on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, which set the stage for a future matchup between the pair.

But, with McGregor’s movie commitments – he recently starred alongside Jake Gyllenhall in the rebook of 1980’s cult classic, Road House – the Irishman wasn’t available to return until now.

Rumours swirled over when he would eventually make his return, and whether he would face Chandler, or someone else.

But at the post-fight press conference , UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that McGregor vs. Chandler was set for the main event of UFC 303, which takes place June 29, during UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

The news ends a long waiting game played by Chandler, who has been on the shelf since his UFC 281 defeat to Poirier back in November 2022.

Chandler is 2-3 in the UFC since his highly-publicised arrival from Bellator, but his fights have delivered hugely entertaining matchups on each occasion, with the American earning two Performance of the Night and two Fight of the Night bonuses in his five UFC appearances to date.

And after his two UFC wins, against Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson, Chandler made the most of his mic time as he made clear who he wanted to face.

Now that bout has finally been agreed, the official build-up starts here.