Irish fighter Conor McGregor has revealed that he is set to return to the UFC, facing Michael Chandler in Las Vegas on June 29th.
The ex-UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, McGregor, has been absent from the octagon since fracturing his leg in a bout against Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
In a social media video, the 35-year-old McGregor declared that this comeback would be the “greatest of all time.”
He disclosed that the fight would take place in the middleweight category, a weight class neither he nor Chandler has previously competed in.
As of now, the UFC has not issued any comments on McGregor’s announcement.
“Ladies and gentleman, a Happy New Year to you all. I would like to announce the return date for myself,” said McGregor.
“The Notorious Conor McGregor. For the greatest comeback of all time will take place in Las Vegas for International Fight Week on June 29th. The opponent, Michael Chandler. The weight, Mr Chandler. 185lb.”
Chandler responded by saying: “I always said I wanted you at your biggest, your baddest and your best. 185 would look good on me.”
McGregor and American Chandler served as coaches on this year’s edition of the UFC reality TV series, The Ultimate Fighter.
Typically, the coaches engage in a fight, but this bout was postponed when it was revealed that McGregor was not included in the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (Usada) testing pool.
McGregor re-entered the pool in October; however, the UFC has since announced the termination of its collaboration with Usada to introduce a new anti-doping program.
Additionally, in his latest match, Chandler suffered defeat to Poirier, succumbing to a third-round submission in New York in November 2022.