The countdown to
[
#TUF31 begins!!! ⏱
#TUF31 Premieres Tue. May 30 on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/QpdIYGMySZ— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter)
April 30, 2023
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As Conor
McGregor continues to delay his entry into the USADA drug
testing pool, there has been some concern in recent weeks that his
matchup with Michael
Chandler won’t actually happen.
According to UFC president Dana White, a fight announcement will
occur during the airing of “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” which
features McGregor and Chandler as opposing coaches and premieres on
May 30.
“That’s correct,” White said at the UFC Fight Night 223 post-fight
press conference on Saturday night. “There’s a fight. He [McGregor]
has to get into the USADA pool first. He’s filling out the
paperwork. I don’t know how soon that will be done or what’s going
on, but that’s his business, that he’s handling with USADA. But
it’s all in motion.”
USADA normally requires athletes to be in the drug-testing pool for
six months upon re-entry, and it’s unclear if McGregor would be
granted a special exception. However, it seems like the UFC is
targeting McGregor vs. Chandler for the end of the year, which
would likely mean adhering to normal USADA protocol. White hinted
at blockbuster UFC fights in November and December, with one likely
behing a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and
Stipe
Miocic. The other would be McGregor’s first Octagon appearance
since July 2021.
“That’s what we’re shooting for,” White said. “Hopefully we have a
big fight in Madison Square Garden in November, and then a big
fight in December.”