Michael Chandler reacts to Conor McGregor’s UFC return being delayed: “The sport will move on and thrive without you”

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler is seemingly moving on from Conor McGregor.

‘Iron’ and ‘The Notorious’ were set to clash in late June in Las Vegas. The two were set to headline UFC 303, but as many fans are aware, the fight didn’t happen. Over two weeks from fight day, Conor McGregor withdrew from his long-awaited return due to a broken toe. Quickly, Michael Chandler was also pulled from the card.

Since then, Conor McGregor, and Michael Chandler, have been vocal about re-booking their fight. While there were some brief discussions about headlining UFC 306 at the Las Vegas Sphere, those didn’t come to fruition. Instead, the two began to target UFC 310 in December. For a few weeks, Dana White seemed interested but non-committal to the idea.

However, everything changed last night. At the Contender Series post-fight press conference, White stated that Conor McGregor wouldn’t be fighting at all in 2024. That quickly led to a lengthy post from the Irishman slamming that decision, but the post was quickly deleted. However, Michael Chandler has already responded.

RELATED: CONOR MCGREGOR SLAMS ‘CORNFLAKE’ CANELO ALVAREZ FOR AVOIDING DAVID BENAVIDEZ: “CANELO DOESN’T SELL”

Conor McGregor reacts to Dana White saying he won’t fight this year:

“Come on now, what’s this? I am off to altitude next month to prepare. DECEMBER! Tell Dana and UFC WE WANT DECEMBER! WE DESERVE DECEMBER!”

(via. @TheNotoriousMMA) #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/31v2ub3FJ8

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 14, 2024

Ah conor, the sport will move on and thrive without you. Put to bed. Laid to rest. Soon a distant memory. You’ve vastly overestimated your importance inside of this game for almost a decade. Godspeed. https://t.co/eQ6UWhK5y1

— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) August 14, 2024

Michael Chandler reacts to Conor McGregor’s UFC 310 return being postponed

On X, Michael Chandler responded to Conor McGregor’s deleted post, stating that the sport has moved on without him. The former Bellator lightweight champion added that ‘The Notorious’ has overplayed his hand, and that he’s no longer important to the sport or the UFC.

With that, it seems clear that the lightweight contender is moving on from the Irishman. Michael Chandler himself said so earlier this month, and Conor McGregor also seemed receptive to getting a new opponent. However, this is far from the first time that the two have shown interest in facing other opponents.

After the UFC 303 cancelation, Michael Chandler called for a ‘BMF’ clash with Max Holloway. However, ‘Blessed’ was later booked opposite Ilia Topuria for Abu Dhabi in October. In recent weeks, Chandler has instead shown interest in a potential rematch against Charles Oliveira. As of now, ‘Do Bronx’ remains unbooked.

What do you make of this UFC news? Do you believe Michael Chandler vs. Conor McGregor will ever happen?