Michael Chandler Says He'll Beat Conor McGregor, 'Probably End' His UFC Career

Michael Chandler vowed this week to provide Conor McGregor with his UFC swan song when they clash over the summer.

Speaking on his YouTube channel (h/t Jed Meshew of MMAFighting.com), Chandler announced his intention to knock McGregor out and end his career:

"It's going to be a big card, it's going to be fun, and I finish Conor within the first two rounds and after that, probably end his career.

"There's just so much more than what people think about on the surface level. I want battlegrounds of epic proportions, I want to stand in the cage with that man, I want to break that man's will, I want to break his jaw, I want to separate him from consciousness, completely flatline him inside the Octagon, and then we say farewell to the sport's biggest star. Then we can go about our merry way."

While UFC has yet to officially announce McGregor vs. Chandler, McGregor released a video last month on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which he said it would be him vs. Chandler during International Fight Week on June 29 in Las Vegas:

McGregor also said the bout would be fought at 185 pounds, which would represent a significant step up in weight from where he and Chandler normally fight, but Chandler insisted he is fine with it.

Chandler also noted that while the fight against McGregor isn't yet 100 percent official, he has a feeling that McGregor's announcement will be confirmed at some point:

"I can confirm, that's exactly what I've heard as well. Obviously, him announcing it makes it a little bit more true. You've got to remember, the UFC has not announced this yet. Also, if I take you back to February of 2023, while he, the UFC, myself, we were all in talks about The Ultimate Fighter, Conor came out and put a long tweet out about The Ultimate Fighter and how he was going to do The Ultimate Fighter.

"So Conor, in typical Conor fashion—Conor being Conor—wanted to break the news himself about The Ultimate Fighter, then it was confirmed and the UFC put it out there. It looks like that scenario has happened again. June 29, International Fight Week, me versus Conor."

As Chandler mentioned, he and McGregor were coaches on the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter, so a fight between them has been widely expected by fans ever since then.

When the bout happens, it will represent McGregor's first fight since UFC 264 in July 2021 when he suffered a broken leg during a loss to Dustin Poirier.

That loss represented McGregor's third in four fights, and it dropped his career record to 22-6, but the Irishman is still an all-time great and a huge draw with UFC featherweight and lightweight title reigns to his credit.

The 37-year-old Chandler has also had a bit of a layoff, having not fought since a submission loss to Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022.

Like McGregor, Chandler has lost three of his past four fights, and he is looking to get back on track with what would be the biggest win of his career should he take down McGregor.