Conor McGregor gets 3-word message from Michael Chandler teasing a comeback fight

Time of India

23-04-2025

and
Michael Chandler
's exchange of cryptic posts has taken the internet by storm. The much-talked-about and highly anticipated bout between McGregor and Chandler might finally see the light of day after a long wait of three years since the airing of The
Ultimate Fighter 31
.
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It was TUF 31 that saw the fighters stepping up against each other, but as coaches to their respective teams. Even though in talks, a head-on fight has not materialized yet between the fighters. A recent thread of posts exchanged between them has, however, reignited hope amongst the MMA fans and the community regarding a potential
comeback bout
for both fighters.
Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler reignite hopes of the MMA community for the iconic bout to pan out
Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler were scheduled to face each other at
UFC 303
.
However, The Notorious had to withdraw from the bout owing to a toe injury. Since then, Chandler waited for quite a long time before finally moving on to face Charles Oliveira at
UFC
309 and
Paddy Pimblett
at
UFC 314
. Both bouts brought disappointing defeats for the Iron.
McGregor is in no better position, with his last bout in the Octagon being a defeat at the hands of Dustin Poirier. From the last four bouts, the fighter stands with a record of 1-3, two of the defeats coming in of Poirier himself and the other one at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
While McGregor's recent life updates mostly revolved around his newfound political ambitions, a few of his cryptic posts on the social media platform X hinted at a potential comeback for the fighter. Just a couple of days before UFC 314, McGregor posted a video of himself sparring while writing that the bout he is most interested in is the Paddy Pimblett vs. Michael Chandler card. This created a wave of speculation amongst the fans that the winner of the bout might be facing McGregor next.
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Even though Pimblett, right after the bout, called out McGregor, there is no positive response from the Notorious.
Instead, the recent post of McGregor hinted at a different opponent. Right after a few moments of expressing his desire to come back to fight only in a stadium, while reflecting on the exciting weekend in Las Vegas, highlighting Wrestlemania 41, the fighter called out Chandler in a pretty much indicative post.
'IRON MIKE CHANDLER. Unfinished business.'
Michael Chandler did not take long and took up the opportunity to respond to McGregor's post on a positive note.
'Unfinished Business Loading….'
While fans have been eagerly waiting for McGregor's comeback announcement owing to the last two bouts remaining in his contract, the exchange of words between Chandler and the Notorious has garnered mixed reactions from the fan community of MMA.
One of the users wrote, 'Calm response Mike, you stayed ready, exactly where you need to be. The plan is still in motion.'
Another one wrote, 'Mike is undefeated when it comes to waiting years for Conor'
'We want to see it already'
'Connor only pops up when he thinks he has a shot'
The mixed reaction from the fan community has revealed diverse opinions, where some believe that McGregor is looking for an easy fight to end his career with a win, while others believe that the wait is not worth it, as this would be just another disappointment for Chandler, as the fight probably wouldn't pan out.
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McGregor recently lost a bet of $500,000, which he had placed on Chandler during the latter's bout with Pimblett at UFC 314. The bet left Pimblett disappointed after he found out that McGregor supported Chandler in the bout. While both Pimblett and Chandler are potential opponents for the Notorious, only time will tell us how the fixture pans out.