Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler will ‘hopefully’ happen in 2024, says UFC president Dana White

The bout was announced 12 months ago but is still without a date, location and weight class

Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler will ‘hopefully’ fight each other in 2024, said UFC president Dana White, in an update that will hardly encourage fans.

McGregor vs Chandler was announced in February 2023, and the pair squared off as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter last summer, but their bout is still without a date, location and weight class.

On New Year’s Eve, McGregor took to social media to claim that he would fight Chandler at middleweight on 29 June, but the UFC never confirmed the news. And per White, the promotion will not do so, as relates to the date mentioned by McGregor.

McGregor, 35, and Chandler, 37, will fight “eventually”, the UFC president told Pat McAfee on Wednesday (7 February), adding: “Hopefully this year. There is no date.

“I’m hoping for the fall, [hopefully] we get it done in the fall.”

Irishman McGregor last fought in July 2021, suffering a broken leg in his second straight loss to Dustin Poirier. American Chandler was also beaten by Poirier last time out, losing to his compatriot via submission in November 2022.

McGregor is a former dual-weight UFC champion – the first in the promotion’s history – having held the featherweight and lightweight belts in 2016. He has also competed at welterweight in the UFC.

Chandler is a former three-time Bellator lightweight champion, who signed with the UFC in 2020. Since then, he has beaten Tony Ferguson and Dan Hooker but suffered losses to Poirier, Charles Oliveira and Dustin Gaethje.