A star on the UFC 300 card is targeting a shot against Conor McGregor later this year with just a week until the big card in Las Vegas.
McGregor has been out of action in the UFC for almost three hours after a series of setbacks due to various reasons, including a long layoff due to an injury that broke his leg in 2021.
However, the 35-year-old is finally ready to return to the octagon and is scheduled to face Michael Chandler in June of this year, renewing their relationship.
After nearly a year of teasing a showdown with the Irishman, Iron Mike told TMZ that both sides and the UFC had agreed for the fight to take place this year.
“I have the official announcement,” Chandler told TMZ. “This will happen this summer.”
“The official status is that we have an agreement; we will be fighting this summer,” he added. ‘We’ll let the court of public opinion speculate on what the date is, but it will definitely be this summer. “We are giving them a window in which we are going to fight.”
Conor McGregor has been offered an alternative return fight to Michael Chandler (right)
McGregor has been out of action since breaking his leg in a clash with Dustin Poirier in 2021
However, Charles Oliveira’s trainer, Diego Lima, has offered the Brazilian as a possible opponent for McGregor.
Lima gave a somewhat scathing review of Chandler’s ability to attract as large an audience as some of the sport’s other big names, given that he’s also been out of the game for about 18 months.
‘It sucks, right? With all due respect to Chandler, I won’t take anything away from him, but what is his history in the UFC? Lime he told MMA Fighting.
‘How many fights did he do in the UFC? Of course, he sells, he has a name, I’m okay with that, but (Justin) Gaethje, (Dustin) Poirier, Charles, (Islam) Makhachev, they’ve all done more than Chandler in the UFC.
‘Much more. So I don’t know if this fight will sell. Chandler kept waiting for McGregor and people forgot about Chandler.
‘Meanwhile, people are working. Gaethje is organizing wars, Poirier is organizing wars, Charles is organizing wars, Arman is organizing wars, Makhachev is organizing wars.
“Unfortunately, this makes this Chandler vs McGregor fight less and less sold because it will be all about McGregor and not about Chandler.
‘Charles outsells Chandler. If Charles fights McGregor now, damn it, in my opinion, that would stop the fighting world. That would stop him.’
MMA star Oliveira is a former UFC lightweight champion (UFC 300 saw up to 10 former or current belt holders in action) and holds the franchise record for most submissions.
Charles Oliveira’s trainer, Diego Lima, has suggested a fight between the two later this year.
Oliveira is a former UFC lightweight champion and has the most submissions in franchise history.
Oliveira saw an 11-match winning streak end against Islam Makhachev in October 2022, but returned to winning ways last time out in the summer of last year, stopping Baneil Dariush in the first round of their showdown at UFC 289.
However, Oliveira faces a challenge to have a fight on the cards, as McGregor and Chandler are already scheduled to rekindle their rivalry at UFC 303 in June.
McGregor has not fought since breaking his tibia in a loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
After recovering from his injury, McGregor began campaigning for a return fight while taking time off to work on other projects, such as the film Road House.