UFC lightweight Michael Chandler has demanded Conor McGregor fights him if the Irishman returns to MMA following a hint at retirement.
Chandler is scheduled to fight Paddy Pimblett in two weeks time at UFC 314 headlined by Alexander Volkanovski versus Diego Lopes, but the American still has McGregor in his sights.
The two were scheduled to fight at UFC 303 last June but McGregor withdrew following a toe injury.
McGregor has not stepped into the octagon since breaking his leg in July 2021, losing to Dustin Poirier.
In 2024 he lost a claim against him for damages in a civil case after being accused on raping a woman in a Dublin Hotel.
In his absence from UFC, McGregor has continued to promote his several business endeavours including alcohol, music and bare knuckle fighting.
There has been plenty of talk about his future as a professional fighter, but McGregor himself stoked retirement rumours when the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship co-owner made an appearance at BKFC 70 on Thursday.
“I’m happy with what I’ve done,” McGregor said, referring to his MMA career.
“There’s something else for me that’s in my gut right now and that’s kind of where I’m going.”
When asked about McGregor’s comments in an interview with The Schmo, Chandler said: “He’s making that push for the President of Ireland. We’ll see how true it is, or how much of a publicity stunt it is.
“As you guys can see, we had the TUF 31 deal, waited for the Conor fight, got the fight booked; he pulled out. Who knows if he’s ever coming back?
“You can see by my actions of fighting Charles Oliveria in November and now Paddy Pimblett in April, I’m not sitting around waiting for Conor.”
Chandler continued: “He knows his road back to the UFC goes through me. We have to finish The Ultimate Fighter 31. We still have a contract with both of our names on it, even though he was not a man of his word in showing up.
“First time he’s ever pulled out of a fight was against me in his entire career. I don’t think he wants that to be his legacy.
“However, if he does, I wish him well in his presidential run in Ireland. But if he comes back to the UFC, he has to fight me.”
Chandler, 38, was inactive for two years between 2022 and 2024 in an attempt to secure a date for a fight with McGregor but now the bout seems unlikely.
While the American has been training in an attempt to slide back into the win column after a decision loss to Charles Oliveira, McGregor travelled to the White House to meet President Donald Trump for St Patrick’s Day.
The former UFC champion accused the Irish government of ‘abandoning’ the voices of the people of Ireland as he criticised immigration policies.
But Irish deputy prime minister Simon Harris said McGregor had ‘no mandate’ to speak for the people of Ireland.
Social Democratic and Labour Party assembly member Matthew O’Toole described McGregor’s White House appearance as an ‘insult to the island of Ireland’.
