- Chandler thrilled fans during his appearance on WWE RAW by calling out McGregor
- He urged McGregor to return to the octagon after their fight was delayed.
Michael Chandler thrilled fans this week by criticizing Conor McGregor while appearing on WWE RAW, telling his rival they have “unfinished business” amid a series of delays to their highly anticipated fight.
Chandler and McGregor first announced a showdown while filming The Ultimate Fighter reality show last summer, but progress on the fight has been slow – UFC boss Dana White recently revealed it wouldn’t happen at least until fall.
Both fighters have expressed frustration on social media about the slow pace of talks and the inability to set a date, although White blames the delays on McGregor being “f***ing rich.”
But now Chandler has stoked excitement for the fight taking place in the near future, as he used a WWE appearance to address talk of his fight with McGregor and urged the Irishman to “get his sweet ass to the octagon.” .
‘Hey, what’s up Anaheim! ‘You are now in the presence of the most entertaining UFC fighter on the planet,’ he roared to a delirious crowd.
Michael Chandler thrilled fans by calling out Conor McGregor live on WWE RAW this week
Chandler, who had been scheduled to face McGregor since appearing on Ultimate Fighter last year, said they had “unfinished business.”
‘Hey, now there’s a guy from Ireland who’s been making me wait too long, and I still have a guy on my mind!
‘Conor McGregor, bring your sweet ass to the octagon! We have some unfinished business, guys! God bless you. I’ll see you at the top!’
His cameo on WWE RAW came after the UFC and WWE announced they were merging, with UFC parent company Endeavor Group purchasing the wrestling federation and forming a new company called TKO.
The deal, which was announced last April, was billed as “a unique opportunity to create global live sport and entertainment built for where the industry is headed” in a company statement.
As for McGregor, he made his feelings clear about the potential showdown between him and Chandler by giving an X-rated rant on the UFC amid the lack of movement on his return.
UFC boss Dana White hopes the Chandler-McGregor fight will take place later this year.
McGregor hasn’t fought since suffering a fractured tibia in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier.
‘Notorious’ has not fought since his second consecutive loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021, in which he suffered a horrific leg fracture.
In an Instagram post earlier this month, he simply wrote: “Set this damn date.”
On New Year’s Eve 2023, McGregor joked and then announced that he would return in June to fight Michael Chandler at middleweight.
But UFC president Dana White later poured cold water on that. When asked, the 54-year-old said: ‘Uh, no. When Conor is ready to fight, you know we will announce it. That’s what we’ll do.’
White was later pressured when fans could expect the showdown to finally occur.
“Over time,” he said. ‘Hopefully this year. There is no date. I hope autumn comes. We’ll (hopefully) finish it in the fall.’