Dana White dismisses talk of Michael Chandler fighting Conor McGregor in his UFC return: “I never said that, ever f**king once”

Dana White is dismissing talk of Michael Chandler fighting Conor McGregor in his UFC return.

It is true that UFC President, Dana White made comments that the two fighters meeting up in the Octagon would be a ‘fun fight’. Also true is the fact that media outlets ran with the story which became Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA) will fight Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA) in his much anticipated return to the Octagon.

White, speaking at UFC 282’s post fight press conference had this to say about a potential match-up between Chandler and McGregor:

Dana in a mood.#UFC282 pic.twitter.com/IS01yDEivg

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 11, 2022

“I never said that, ever f***in’ once. This is what happens when you do interviews and people listen to your interviews.”

Continuing Dana White clarified his comments:

“They said, ‘So, if Conor McGregor came back right now, who would you be looking at as an opponent?’ I said, ‘Well, if he did, if that happened, and that scenario played out right now, Chandler would be a fun fight.’ Never f***ing once did I say Conor McGregor vs. Chandler. I don’t even know when Conor McGregor’s coming back. And this is why I don’t like to answer these kinds of questions. Because some f**king idiot somewhere on the Internet puts out that that’s what I said, and it’s not even remotely close to what I said.”

So White just shut down the story as fiction.

McGregor, 34, last entered the Octagon in July of 2021 at UFC 264 where he was defeated by Dustin Poirier (29-7 MMA). Following the bout, the Irishman required surgery to repair his broken leg and has since been recovering, rehabilitating and training. It is rumoured that McGregor is set to re-enter the cage in 2023, assuming he complies with 6 months of USADA drug testing.

Chandler, 36, also recently lost to Dustin Poirier this past November at UFC 281. ‘Iron’ has the not so impressive status of having 3 losses in his last 4 fights in the Octagon.

So with Dana White putting the rumour of a McGregor vs Chandler fight to bed, who would you like to see ‘Notorious‘ battle it out with for his return to the Octagon?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!