Dana White unsure on when Conor McGregor fights Michael Chandler in UFC return: ‘When isn’t guaranteed’

UFC president, Dana White has claimed that he is still unsure as to when a long-anticipated grudge match between former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor, and lightweight contender, Michael Chandler will take place – pointing to the Dubliner leg fracture potentially holding up his 2023 return to active competition.

McGregor, 34, most recently competed back in July 2021 in the main event of UFC 264, suffering a fractured left tibia and fibula en route to a doctor’s stoppage loss to Dustin Poirier. 

As for Chandler, the one-time vacant lightweight title challenger featured most recently at UFC 281 back in November of last yeat against Poirier at Madison Square Garden, suffering a third round rear-naked choke submission loss to the Lafayette favorite.

Selected to feature as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 31 this year, Conor McGregor and Chandler recently began filming for the reality television show on location in Las Vegas, Nevada – with an alleged altercation taking place between the two at the UFC Apex facility just last week.

Dana White remains coy on Conor McGregor’s UFC comeback

And despite fans clamoring for more information on McGregor’s return against Chandler, White claims it’s far from a straightforward matchup to put together.

“They’re (Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler) going to fight,” Dana White told on The Pat McAfee show. “‘When’ isn’t guaranteed – when, what weight class, what are these guys doing. Conor’s filming this season of The Ultimate Fighter with Chandler. But Conor’s still coming back from that shin break.”

“There’s still a lot of questions and ifs, and we don’t have answers yet,” Dana White continued. 

At the time of publication, McGregor has yet to return to the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) testing pool ahead of his Octagon return. And in order to compete, the Dubliner would require to feature in the pool for a period of six months, or acquire an exemption to compete from the promotion.