Michael Chandler speaks after Conor McGregor fight is made official for UFC 303: “I never really doubted it”

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler never doubted that he was going to fight Conor McGregor.

Over the weekend, Dana White made the welterweight bout official for UFC 303 on June 29th. For Michael Chandler, the fight announcement is a long time coming. The lightweight contender hasn’t fought since a submission loss to Dustin Poirier in November 2022. After that defeat, he booked a coaching role on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Conor McGregor.

The two were expected to fight last year, but that was postponed. Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor were linked to a potential bout at UFC 300, but that too, didn’t come to fruition. With ‘The Notorious’ pitching other fights against the likes of Nate Diaz, many doubted that he would ever fight Chandler.

However, the fight is now official. Michael Chandler couldn’t be more relieved, and that’s what he stated on his Instagram story earlier today. On social media, the former Bellator lightweight champion discussed the long wait to face Conor McGregor and his reaction to the fight announcement.

RELATED: CONOR MCGREGOR ANNOUNCES MICHAEL CHANDLER FIGHT IS FINALLY SET FOR UFC 303 IN JUNE: “SEE YOU ON THE DATE I SAID”

(via Zuffa LLC)

UFC lightweight Michael Chandler discusses Conor McGregor fight announcement

In the view of Chandler, the fight announcement is just proof that hard work pays off. While many fans doubted that the bout would ever happen, it was never a thought in his mind. Chandler waited to fight McGregor, and it’s going to finally pay off in June.

“I never really doubted it as much as you guys did.” Michael Chandler stated in the video uploaded to his Instagram story earlier today. “I had a lot more reassurances behind the scenes than you guys know about, I just knew it was going to take time. And, I preach exactly what I had to go through and I had my moments that I didn’t do so well with it. But, the hard work eventually pays off you just have to still be standing there when it does.”

He continued, “It’s not that people don’t do the right things. It’s that they don’t do the right things for long enough. Like, it’s not about you. It’s not about your timeline, it’s not about what you want. Sometimes it’s just about doing what you need to do with faith and enthusiasm constantly moving forward. That’s, where the beauty is. Get after it today, I’ll see you at the top.”

What do you make of these comments from the UFC lightweight contender? Who do you got in the welterweight clash later this summer? Michael Chandler or Conor McGregor?