Who is Conor McGregor fighting next?

It has been made official - Conor McGregor is set to return to the Octagon soon. Following a three-year layoff due to an injury followed by a movie shooting, McGregor has his next fight date confirmed. With UFC 300 complete, the UFC has revealed the plans for the upcoming events. The next big event on the UFC calendar will be the upcoming annual International Fight Week.

UFC 303 will be the cornerstone of the 2024 UFC International Fight Week, and the main event of the card is one that has been much anticipated. McGregor will be making his return to action, with his last fight being at UFC 264, where he headlined against Dustin Poirier in a trilogy fight.

During his time away from the Octagon, McGregor made a return to The Ultimate Fighter on season 31 as a coach. During this time, it was all but confirmed who McGregor's opponent upon returning would be, and it has now come to be.

Who is Conor McGregor fighting in June?

McGregor coached The Ultimate Fighter season 31 opposite Michael Chandler. The UFC confirmed that the pair will finally have their first fight at UFC 303 on Saturday, June 29.

The two coaches of The Ultimate Fighter typically face each other at the conclusion of that season, during the same year of airing. With McGregor and Chandler, their match-up suffered several delays and never truly being confirmed by the UFC.

At the end of 2023, McGregor began hinting that he would soon make a return to the Octagon, and he even put out a video "announcing" his next fight. In the video, McGregor announced that his return would "take place in Las Vegas on International Fight Week on June the 29th," before adding that the opponent would be Michael Chandler and the weight would be 185 pounds.

All but one of those have been proven to be accurate in the fight announcement. Whilst McGregor will be facing Chandler in Las Vegas on International Fight Week on June 29, the weight will be a different one. Instead of middleweight, as announced by McGregor, the pair will meet at welterweight instead.

Chandler made his professional debut in 2009 and, during his time at Strikeforce, he fought as a welterweight. Upon being signed to Bellator in 2010, he would move down to the lightweight division, which is where he has remained the rest of his career.

McGregor is known for his feats in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, which is where he even made history as the first simultaneous two-title holder in UFC history. In 2016 and 2020, McGregor did have fights at welterweight.

Three years since his leg break, McGregor will make a return to activity. Chandler will be the one tasked with welcoming the former double champion back to the Octagon.

McGregor and Chandler will meet at UFC 303 on June 29 live at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.