Michael Chandler Predicts Conor McGregor Retirement After June UFC Fight

Originally posted on FanNation MMA Knockout | Last updated 1/5/24

It’s been well over two years since fans last saw Conor McGregor compete in the Octagon, and Michael Chandler believes their upcoming matchup will be the final fight of the UFC star's career.

Chandler and McGregor’s coaching roles on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter helped generate hype for the highly-anticipated return of “The Notorious”, but following the conclusion of the show it began to seem less and less likely that the opposing coaches would ever meet in the cage.

Fan excitement for the fight appears to be growing again now that the UFC has finally announced the two men will square off in June, and during a recent ESPN MMA interview Chandler was asked if he expects to be the former two-division champion’s final opponent.

“I do, I think I’ll be the last person,” Chandler told Brett Okamoto. “I think I dominate him in a fashion that - it’s almost as if he can keep trying to come back, but he will have lost the fan's interest so much more after I do what I’m gonna do to him on June 29th.”

“Iron” has remained committed to the matchup with McGregor even while the Irishman suggested he’d like to return against a different opponent, and Chandler went on to admit that he’s looking forward to making “The Notorious” pay for keeping him sidelined for so long.

“There’s definitely a certain aspect of that – revenge aspect. Make him pay for the last year. Some of it was outside of his control, but a lot of it he created… I didn’t think it would be delayed this long, and all of that is just deposits in the bank of me wanting to absolutely smash this dude…I don’t need to get emotional about it and fight outside of myself, but there will be an extra hint of satisfaction of I think ending this guy’s career.”

The former Bellator lightweight champion came up short in his last bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281, but the two men did take home Fight of the Night honors for Chandler's fourth post-fight bonus out of five UFC appearances.

McGregor is also coming off back-to-back losses to Poirier after he previously knocked out “The Diamond” in their featherweight bout in 2014. Provided the Chandler matchup remains intact, the fight on June 29 will see the biggest star in UFC history step into the cage for the first time in almost three years.

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