Is Conor McGregor fighting Michael Chandler? Head-to-head record, stats and more

This week marked the final episode of The Ultimate Fighter 31, and the series signed off with a staredown between coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler.

Part of the premise of TUF 31 was to build up to a fight between ‘The Notorious’ and ‘Iron Mike’. So when – if ever – will this fight finally take place? And how do the two stars match up?

One thing we do know is that it’s unlikely that 2023 will see Conor McGregor step back into the octagon, full stop.

‘The Notorious’ did recently claim that he’d fight Chandler in December, followed by bouts with Justin Gaethje and Nate Diaz.

The likelihood of this, though, seems low. That’s because the Irishman missed the deadline for rejoining USADA’s drug testing pool, meaning that six months of testing will now take him into 2024. This was confirmed by his manager Audie Attar last month.

Therefore, it’s unlikely we will see McGregor vs. Chandler until 2024. However, ‘Iron Mike’ did recently state that he’d be heading to ESPN’s HQ to discuss some things, and suggested that a date for the fight could be confirmed soon.

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Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler: How do their records stack up?

If the two men ever do face off, it will be Conor McGregor’s first fight since his loss to Dustin Poirier in August 2021. That fight saw ‘The Notorious’ suffer a terrible injury to his leg, leading to a TKO defeat.

Michael Chandler, meanwhile, made his UFC debut in January 2021 by knocking out Dan Hooker. His octagon record is a largely unimpressive 2-3, but his losses came to three of the top lightweights in the world in Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Poirier.

‘Iron Mike’ last won in March 2022, when he knocked out Tony Ferguson with a stunning front kick to the jaw. The former Bellator MMA champ is renowned as one of the world's most exciting lightweights.

To find McGregor’s last win, meanwhile, you have to go back to January 2020, when he stopped Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone with a quick flurry in just 40 seconds.

Overall, though, ‘The Notorious’ has an octagon record of 10-4. The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, McGregor holds wins over the likes of Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, Nate Diaz and Eddie Alvarez.

He remains the first fighter to win two UFC titles in different weight classes simultaneously, and is the promotion’s best-drawing star, with eight of his pay-per-view headliners drawing more than one million buys.