Current The Ultimate Fighter 31 coach Conor McGregor cast some doubts as to who he’d be fighting next recently — but over the weekend, he confirmed that his coaches’ fight with Michael Chandler is still on.
He also gave a timeframe.
“December. Chandler,” McGregor told Gareth A. Davies of TalkSport on Saturday. “I have to, I have to. I’ve got to do that with him. I’m going to grab him by the chest and crack him.”
The possibility of a December date may take those not paying close attention by surprise. Much has been made about McGregor’s absence from the USADA testing pool. Under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy, which the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency oversees, fighters must be in the pool for six months prior to competing, when returning from any absence from the program. McGregor, for reasons unknown, pulled out of the testing program after breaking his leg in a fight with Dustin Poirier two years ago.
However, the UFC, and UFC alone, can issue an exemption to that rule, USADA confirmed to Cageside Press last year. The promotion has done so at least twice before: once when Brock Lesnar made a surprise return at UFC 200, for a fight with Mark Hunt. And once when Miesha Tate returned from retirement.
Things went haywire when Lesnar failed a drug test ahead of the Hunt fight, the results of which were not available until after the event. That led to a lawsuit filed by Hunt against the promotion, which ultimately went nowhere. Lesnar, however, had a decision win overturned to a No Contest.
Things went much smoother with Tate. And McGregor, for his part, was one of the most tested UFC athletes when he was in the testing pool. He has never failed a drug test.
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that the Irish star was set to file paperwork to return to testing, though it has yet to materialize. USADA has been steadfast about their preference to have the fighter complete the standard six months of testing, but a McGregor fight this year would be big money for the UFC — and it appears he’s keen for more.
“Chandler next, December, then [Justin] Gaethje, BMF, and then we’ll do the Nate [Diaz] trilogy,” said McGregor on Saturday. All of those would be huge money fights for the UFC. Gaethje recently claimed the symbolic “Baddest Motherf*cker” title by knocking out Dustin Poirier with a head kick, while Diaz came up short in a boxing match with Jake Paul.
