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There is no clarity about when Conor McGregor will fight again. Having been out of the octagon for over three years since suffering a horrific leg break in his UFC 264 clash against Dustin Poirier, there are serious questions about whether the Irishman will ever fight in the UFC again.

While McGregor had announced a July 29 date, this was shot down by Dana White, who has said that the Irishman will not be fighting until at least late this year. With a fledgling acting career and hints of a political run on the horizon, many think the bombastic Irishman will not be back in the octagon ever again. However, this is not the case for his opponent, Michael Chandler.

Chandler training for UFC 303 clash against Conor McGregor

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Michael Chandler, McGregor’s slated opponent since their contentious ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31’ stint as head coaches last year, is undeterred. The former Bellator champion, who hasn’t fought since 2022, took to Twitter and revealed that he was in camp for his upcoming bout against McGregor, promising to “break him”.

“This is going to be a special camp for me. I’ve never been away from competition this long in the last 22 years of hand-to-hand combat. Laying a foundation now. I break him within 2 rounds. 114 days,” Chandler tweeted.

And while the American seems to be working towards a July booking given he mentioned 114 days before the fight, it is not clear that he will face the Dubliner on UFC 303. In addition, McGregor’s Hollywood debut project, ‘Road House’ set for a March 21 release, whose reception might just tempt him into trying his hand at show business. However, the former two-division champion has made clear that he intends to keep fighting.

‘Notorious’ wants to fight Nate Diaz after Chandler

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Despite the uncertainty over his comeback, Conor Mcgregor seems determined to be back and active. Having told fans in a recent Q and A session that he wanted to fight Michael Chandler in July at UFC 303 and Nate Diaz on Mexican Independence Day in September at the iconic Sphere in Las Vegas.

Read More: Sean O’Malley Confesses Bizarre Umar Nurmagomedov Interaction – “We’re Gonna Fight Someday”

However, this seems extremely unlikely given Dana White’s revelations that he will not fight at least until the latter half of the year. Chandler, in the meantime, is stuck in limbo, damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.

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If the former Bellator champion waits for McGregor, he may just end up wasting two years of a crucial phase of his career for a fight that doesn’t even materialize. If he gives up, however, he will definitely be giving up on the biggest potential payday of his fighting career by far. What do you think Michael Chandler should do?

Read More: What Does Dustin Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation Do? Conor McGregor Controversy, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Donation, and More

Written by

Kanishk Thakur

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Kanishk Thakur is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports with nearly 5 years of professional writing experience. Kanishk has expertly covered the heated rivalries of the fight game, and delivered meticulous reports of payouts of PPV events and Fight Nights, in addition to covering the personal side of fighters outside the sport. He is also an ardent Joe Rogan fan, who hopes to draw in more fans to the sport as Rogan did for him.
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Edited by

Jacob Gijy