"Are we getting close?" - Michael Chandler pokes at Conor McGregor with love song amid rumors of USADA re-entry

Despite Conor McGregor's UFC return against Michael Chandler being announced in early 2023, the bout is yet to materialize. Now, in a post on X, 'Iron' has poked fun at 'The Notorious' amidst rumors of his re-entry in the USADA testing pool.

Earlier this week, in an Instagram post, 'The Notorious' hinted that he has re-entered the USADA testing pool. In the post, the Irishman claimed that he has already submitted the prerequisites for testing to UFC's Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky. His post read:

"Find my targets. Hit them. F*ck the consequences. You’re going down. This is fighting. Sparring day with slick @grozdevnikolay. Always a banger of a spar with the slick fella. Submitted my stuff to Novitzky. Ball rolling ⚽️. See you soon you little light work b***h."

Chandler responded to McGregor's claims with a hilarious post on X. The former three-time Bellator lightweight champion juxtaposed a video of Creed's 2001 song 'My Sacrifice' to a picture of McGregor with a testing cup, with the caption:

"Are we getting close@TheNotoriousMMA?"

If the former two-division champion has indeed entered the testing pool, it will take another six months for him to be cleared to fight in the UFC. This would mean the earliest we can expect McGregor vs. Chandler would be April 2024.

According to Michael Chandler, the super-fight is being targeted for UFC 300 in April 2024.

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Michael Chandler wants Nate Diaz if the Conor McGregor fight falls through

Michael Chandler is scheduled to face Conor McGregor on his UFC return. However, many wonder whether the matchup will ever come to fruition since the fight has yet to materialize.

Although Chandler seems confident about the matchup happening, during a recent segment of The MMA Hour, he entertained the idea of fighting Nate Diaz if his scrap with 'The Notorious' breaks apart. Talking to Ariel Helwani, he said:

"There [are] definitely some moments where I'm like, hey man, is Conor coming back? Is he just trolling us all? Is he a real fighter anymore? And you think, who is a real fighter, Nate Diaz is a real fighter, I'm a real fighter."

Catch Michael Chandler's comments on Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz below (25:04):

Furthermore, in a post on X, 'Iron' claimed that he'd finish the Stockton native in under two rounds if they were to lock horns in the octagon.