Conor
McGregor has been in the public eye quite a bit recently, but
so far there has been nothing to indicate that a date has been set
for his fight with Michael
Chandler.
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“The Ultimate Fighter 31” is set to air this month, and viewers
will be able to see how McGregor and Chandler interact as opposing
coaches on the long-running reality show. The two are then expected
to square off in the Octagon some time after the season concludes
in August. Exactly when that is remains unknown. In the meantime,
McGregor was seen facing off against Mike Perry
at the conclusion of the BKFC 41 main event this past weekend. He
was also in attendance for the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia
boxing match one week prior.
While McGregor seems to be enjoying life, that has led to
speculation that he won’t make it to his proposed bout with
Chandler. The former Bellator lightweight champion discussed that
possiblity during a recent interview with ESPN.
“I think he’s coming back,” Chandler said. “It sure would be a huge
stain on his legacy, leading everybody down a road, making people
think that he’s coming back, and then kind of chickening out at the
very end and only doing it for the publicity. That, to me, screams
insecurity, and he’s trying to stay relevant rather than seeing
through your commitment.
“I could be very wrong about it, and if I am, I would be surprised
and, quite frankly, disappointed, but also, I’m not going to sit
here blowing up my manager, blowing up Dana [White] and Hunter
[Campbell], just calling them all the time, ‘Hey, when are we
getting something done?’
“At this point, I’m believing we are going to fight later on this
fall, maybe winter at the latest — and we’ll see what happens.”
Part of the speculation regarding McGregor centers on his re-entry
into the USADA drug testing pool. There is usually a six-month
period required when an athlete re-enters the pool, though McGregor
recently indicated that he thought two clean tests would clear him
to fight. There have been exceptions made by the UFC in the past,
and Chandler wouldn’t be upset if that proves to be the case for
McGregor.
“I could see it very well being just two clean tests,” Chandler
said. “I have no problem with it being two clean tests. I could
care less. If you do two clean tests, sounds to me like you’re
clean. At this point, who am I to say what the stipulations are?
I’m ready for him to be cleared or at least get that answer. At
this point, we don’t have an answer.”