Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler was supposed to headline UFC 303 back in June before the former broke his toe in training, postponing the bout even further.
But in a press conference Tuesday night, Dana White revealed that he had a recent conversation with McGregor and even gave a potential timetable for the "Notorious" one's return to the Octagon.
"We talked, we didn't meet up but we talked," White told reporters. "He wants to fight so we'll figure it out.
"Not this year," White added on. "He won't fight this year."
That dashes Chandler's hope of possibly squeezing in the fight before the start of 2025.
“December's got me and Conor written all over it," Chandler had told Lucky Block. "That's when we should fight.
"It's enough time for him to have healed up and get back into a training camp. December makes a lot of sense. People love the violence that I bring to the Octagon and obviously Conor McGregor is the biggest name in combat sports, so this fight makes a ton of sense. It's a great matchup."
At 36, McGregor hasn't fought since suffering a fractured leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier back in July 2021. He has lost three of his last four fights.
Chandler, 38, has also lost three of his last four fights including a submission loss (rear-naked choke) to Poirier in November 2022.
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