Michael Chandler has revealed that he is yet to sign a contract to fight Conor McGregor in June.
McGregor’s long-awaited UFC comeback seemed to be set in stone when the Irishman last week claimed he would be facing Chandler, insisting the battle would be at 185lbs.
The bout seemed set to headline International Fight Week in Las Vegas, with McGregor releasing a video on social media claimed the bout, which was originally scheduled for February 2023, was agreed.
It’s possible the long-awaited fight, which was also at one point stated to be taking place in April, will still happen, but it appears that nothing has been signed yet.
Chandler, speaking to ESPN, raised doubts over the potential fight when he revealed the lack of agreement, but did admit it’s likely that the fight will be made.
Michael Chandler (pictured) has claimed he is yet to sign a contract to fight Conor McGregor
The two are set to do battle in June, according to a social media video posted by McGregor (left) on New Year’s Eve
‘I’m leaving my family here in the next couple of weeks to head down to Florida to get into fight camp, the fight camp that has been looming now for a year,’ the 37-year-old said. ‘I’ll do a week or so in January, a week or so in February, a week or so in March, then all of April, May and June, I’m there in Florida.
‘I have 100 per cent confidence that I’m fighting Conor McGregor on 29 June. 29 June, we take this dude’s head off. With that being said, it’s a crazy sport. Injuries and sicknesses happen. The fight isn’t actually happening until both of us are in the cage.’
Chandler went onto address McGregor’s video, in which his opponent branded ‘the greatest comeback of all time’, questioning the intentions and the weight it was claimed the fight would take place at.
‘I had an idea, but you never quite know,’ he said when asked if he knew what would be in the video. ‘Is it gonna be another troll job? Is it gonna be another “Conor as the centre of attention” deal? Is it gonna be silence? What tactic is he gonna use again to keep everybody on the edge of their seats, not just me?
Chandler addressed the debate around the weight for the fight, claiming McGregor ‘wants everybody to believe he’s bigger than he is’
‘He’s done a lot of things over the last year or so that were directly intended for me and my team to hear, that everybody ran with. I have a way of doing things. Obviously keeping quiet is one of them, not letting things bother me is one of them.
‘Ultimately, I’m 50-50 on it, It doesn’t matter. I don’t care whether he wants to fight at 185lbs, 170, 205, whatever it may be. You’ve got to remember, he doesn’t want to fight at 155 because he wants everybody to believe he’s bigger than he is. In his mind, he can’t fight at 170 because I called him out at 170, therefore I’m not doing as I’m told, he’s doing what I said.
‘So, he had to say 185. I’m able to fluctuate my weight, I don’t need to bulk up to make 185; it would be easy and fun to make.’
