Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — Adding to the buzzing post-fight celebration at UFC 300, CEO Dana White unveiled the long-awaited welterweight clash between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, set to ignite the Octagon on June 29 in Las Vegas.

After a nearly three-year hiatus, McGregor, 35, is making a remarkable return to the Octagon. His absence was marked by a gruesome shin-bone injury in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier, which ended in an anticlimactic fashion. McGregor, the first fighter in UFC history to hold the featherweight and lightweight titles simultaneously, is ready to reclaim his glory.

McGregor has won just two fights since 2016. His last win came against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. The Irishman needed less than a minute to win, earning his first MMA win in nearly four years.

McGregor and Chandler were coaches on TUF 31 and had planned to fight one another at season’s end in the summer or winter of 2023, but neither happened. Whether it was contract negotiations with the promotion, additional non-fighting opportunities like filming the remake of “Roadhouse,” or nagging injuries, McGregor was left unable to compete.

As for Chandler, the former Bellator lightweight champion, he decided to hold out and wait for McGregor, having yet to compete since Nov. 2022. And it’s understandable why. McGregor is arguably the biggest draw in UFC history, having done several million pay-per-view buys, including 2.4 million with Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.

The fight will be contested over five rounds, as is routine when McGregor competes and has been the case since July 2015. Both men are natural lightweights, but at press time, there is no clear expectation as to why the fight is up a weight class.

Nevertheless, the fight world will descend upon Las Vegas in June, as the UFC surrounds the fight with UFC’s International Fight Week, the promotion’s 12th rendition of the event, which celebrates the sport's history. Events will include a press conference, the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony, and a live ceremonial weigh-in for fans to attend free of charge.

This will be the UFC’s second trip to Las Vegas for a pay-per-view in 2024, as the promotion has booked the MSG Sphere for UFC 306 in September. The pay-per-view calendar from July onward, minus an August date in Australia, is still being determined.

For the moment, MMA’s biggest star is officially back, and regardless of their understanding of combat sports, fans recognize a major sports figure when they see one—McGregor fits that description.

The rest of UFC 303’s bout order has not been officially announced, as four weeks prior, the promotion will be back in New Jersey, headlined by a lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier.

The summer is gearing up to be busy for the UFC, as a rare-off week commences Saturday before its weekly schedule ramps up with UFC Vegas 91 on April 27.

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