Dana White wants to help Michael Chandler as much as possible in the wake of the postponed Conor McGregor fight at UFC 303.
Chandler and McGregor were finally ready to square off June 29th until an injury forced the Irish superstar and former double champion to pull out of the fight. As far as the UFC president is concerned, White said Chandler still wants to wait for McGregor, whenever they can reschedule the fight this year.
However, White won’t rule out Chandler getting a different fight and opponent in the meantime, if the former Missouri wrestling All-American wants it.
“Uh Chandler, I think poor Chandler wants to wait for Conor McGregor man,” White said on The Jim Rome Show. “Whatever he wants to do. If he wants to get a fight this summer, we’ll do whatever he wants. He’s one of the greatest athletes I’ve ever worked with. He’s a good human being and I like him a lot. Whatever he wants to do, we’ll figure it out for him.”
Chandler is 23-8 in his MMA career and 2-3 since joining the UFC after multiple title reigns in Bellator. He previously fought for the UFC lightweight championship against Charles Oliveira on May 15, 2021, losing via TKO.
UFC 303’s main event will now be a Light Heavyweight title match between champion Alex Pereira and No. 1 challenger Jiří Procházka. The co-main event will be a Featherweight bout between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes.
The road to UFC 303 has been littered with potholes. The UFC canceled a press conference between McGregor and Chandler in Dublin, Ireland for previously unspecified reasons. Over 10,000 fans were reportedly expected to be in attendance.
McGregor and Chandler were pitted against each other in The Ultimate Fighter last summer and the two were finally scheduled to fight in a welterweight (170 pounds) main event. Now, the UFC has to find a new date.
McGregor confirmed he suffered an undisclosed injury and had to pull out of the fight against Chandler.
“Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout,” McGregor wrote on Instagram. “I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me.
“The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team. My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there! Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!”
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