According to Conor McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, Michael Chandler was his first choice for his comeback fight, not Max Holloway.
UFC president Dana White announced last week that McGregor will make his comeback to the Octagon after five years away when he battles Holloway in a rematch in the main event of UFC 329, which takes place on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It’s a great fight, to be sure, but according to McGregor’s manager, Holloway wasn’t his first choice for his comeback fight.
Conor McGregor’s Manager Says Michael Chandler Was His 1st Choice
Speaking to Farah Hannoun of MMAjunkie.com at the Usyk vs. Verhoeven boxing match in Giza, Egypt, Attar admitted that McGregor was pushing for a fight with Chandler. The two coached opposite each other on “The Ultimate Fighter 31” in 2023 and were set to fight at UFC 303 in 2024 before McGregor pulled out with an injury. Three years later, the two still have unfinished business, which McGregor wanted to take care of. But the UFC wasn’t having any of it.
“Conor really wanted to give that to Michael Chandler. He just felt Michael deserved it, having gone through the show and experienced that camp, the unfortunate injury, and the cancellation of the bout. Conor really, really wanted that to happen, and we did everything to try to push it. At the time, it just didn’t make sense for the UFC, but it doesn’t mean that it might not happen in the future. Michael has a great fight ahead of him at the White House (against Mauricio Ruffy), and we wish him the best. We want him to succeed. It can become a reality,” Attar said.
While Attar said Team McGregor wanted to fight Chandler, they ultimately agreed to fight Holloway in a rematch, and they love this fight, too.
“Like I said, we pushed for Chandler. That was our main focus initially. Different names surfaced in the conversations, and in the negotiations, and I think from a Max Holloway perspective, we know we got one on Max, and he wants to get that back. We know they faced each other when they were 145ers, and we know that Max is game and he’s going to put on a great performance. We just felt it was the right matchup. One of the things, obviously with being out with the time Conor has been out for, it just made sense to do it at 170, right? Max was game right away and willing to step up and take the matchup at 170,” Attar said.
Could Conor McGregor Fight Michael Chandler in the Future?
After hearing what McGregor’s manager said about Chandler, fans will now wonder if this fight could happen in the future. Obviously, it’s been booked already and fell through, but given the history between the two, you can’t completely write it off from ever happening in the UFC.
Depending on what happens between McGregor vs. Holloway and Chandler vs. Ruffy, there is certainly a possibility that we could see McGregor and Chandler face off one day. But for now, these two rivals have different opponents that they need to focus on before they ever think about fighting each other inside the Octagon.
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