For as long as the Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor saga dragged on, the time since it all fell apart somehow feels even longer ago. In reality, the ill-fated rivalry came to an end just last year — or at least, in its present form — when everything crashed down two weeks prior to UFC 303. McGregor withdrew from the bout citing a broken pinky toe, and as we’ve since learned, he missed the first of the three UFC-mandated drug tests on the same day UFC CEO Dana White announced the fight was off. McGregor was eventually handed an 18-month suspension earlier this month for the missed tests.
Of course, that latter development was news to the man who got burned the most by UFC 303’s lost main event. Chandler has his hunch regarding how everything really went down, but isn’t on board with any of your conspiracy theories.
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“[UFC fighters] all know that we’ve got it all on our phones,” Chandler told Uncrowned. “Where we’re at, putting our locations in so the UFC or Drug Free Sport can come and test us whenever. We all know if we have three missed tests, it is a whereabouts failure. It’s not a failed drug test, but you will get a suspension. Obviously, it was retroactive to what? September of last year, which means March, [McGregor] would be able to compete. … All I know is I’ve never missed a whereabouts failure. I never pulled out of a fight and I never miss weight, so I’m just a professional all the way around.
“What I would guess and surmise is that, obviously, he and I both wanted the UFC to get the fight rebooked. If you’ve got a broken toe, let’s just push it back a month, push it back two months. And I think the UFC was maybe a little bit gun-shy: ‘Hey, we’re going to let this thing play out for a second, let’s let you completely heal up, because we can’t take the chance of promoting another fight and you pulling out of the fight again.’ … I would imagine his psyche is like, ‘Alright, well — forget it. If I can’t fight, I’m just going to miss these drug tests. You’re not going to come drug test me and I’ll fight whenever I can fight in a year.’
“All I know is he’s ready to go as of March 2026,” Chandler concluded.
As it stands, Chandler, 39, left McGregor in the rearview mirror after UFC 303 fell apart. His year-and-a-half wait was all for naught, and no matter who Chandler fights next, he’ll now need to snap a three-fight losing skid, with his last two losses coming to Charles Oliveira and Paddy Pimblett amid the ashes of the McGregor wreckage. Still, both men continue to acknowledge their lingering interest in reviving the matchup, specifically for next year’s planned UFC White House card in the summer.
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Chandler said he’s been busy outside of the Octagon despite not having fought since April, working on a career documentary, writing a book, running a tequila business, getting into real estate and various other endeavors. But he’s still a fighter first and foremost. His primary goal for a 2026 return is the White House card, he said, but if something comes across his inbox sooner, he may not be able to resist.
“My main job is to be a UFC fighter, fight in the UFC,” Chandler said. “If we had an interesting offer come in, a fun name — a fun, exciting fight — we would obviously consider it and kind of look at the timeline of things. We’ll have to get more information. It’s a day-by-day process right now, trying to get more information and figure out what we’re doing. All I can do is keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s focus on me and my career, staying in shape, working on my businesses, loving on my family and keep on doing awesome things in life.”
In hindsight, the time away created by the McGregor rivalry was a positive, said Chandler.
Although the recent results haven’t been in his favor, the former Bellator flag-bearer has learned over the years to flip his mindset and appreciate those results for what they are, in their own unique ways. At this point, he knows the odds necessarily aren’t on his side for another shot at the UFC lightweight title.
Will Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler finally happen in 2026?
(Chris Unger via Getty Images)
“I haven’t cared about being a world champion for a very long time,” Chandler said. “If we get so focused on the big goal, then it’s just going to make you a less effective fighter, a less effective human being. So I don’t say that to say that I don’t want to win the title. That’s always been the goal, but I never really wanted to talk about it too much because all I could really focus on was being a world champion today. I got my two workouts today — I’m going to be a world champion in these two workouts. And when my kids get off school, I’m going to be a world champion dad. When I want to take my wife on a date, maybe I try to be a world champion husband, right? Then it’s not just how you do one thing, it’s how you do everything. If you take these small, little incremental steps and you do the small things right, then and only then can you be trusted in the big things.
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“So of course, the goal is always to be the No. 1 guy in the world, the No. 1 lightweight in the world, the world champion, the UFC world champion, because that’s something I have not accomplished yet. But I don’t think that I look at it as — I know that I did every single thing that I possibly could in order to achieve that. If you know you have that certainty, then you’re doing the best that you possibly can.”
Chandler’s latest career trajectory, at least in the matchmaking department, brings his journey to a perplexing crossroads. UFC has never had an issue pitting its old dogs against rising superstars. Chandler himself experienced that “old guard vs. new guard” element against Pimblett, presumably passing the torch to the man who could be next in line to challenge for Ilia Topuria’s lightweight title. If it’s not McGregor next — which no one should confidently expect — then another fight against an up-and-comer could be Chandler’s fate.
But if he sits back and plays fantasy matchmaker, there’s still one outside-of-the-box idea Chandler would love to entertain before all is said and done: A rubber match with his perfect dance partner, Eddie Alvarez.
“It’s not really redemption or revenge or any of that — I think it would more just be a much bigger fight or a more fun fight, a fight that excites me,” Chandler said.
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“Me and Eddie, back in our prime … we were supposed to fight the third time. I would love to get that fight back. That would have been a fight that the fans wanted to see. It was a fight that everybody wanted to see. He pulls out a week before — I, with my big old ego and pride, was like, ‘Oh, forget it. I’ll fight anyway.’ Even though I was dealing with a back injury and I fight Will Brooks, and that didn’t go [well]. It’s just bad decision-making all the way around.
“Me and Eddie, man, we made some magic for like 45 minutes,” Chandler added. “He’s a stud, man, and will forever be etched in my journey.”
