Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor announced his much-awaited comeback in a Happy New Year video he posted on his X, formerly Twitter, account on Sunday.
McGregor, 35, said that it would be the “greatest comeback of all time” as the Notorious confirmed he will take on Michael Chandler in June 2024 in the middleweight category.
"Ladies and gentlemen, a Happy New Year to you all. I would like to announce the return date for myself," said McGregor.
"The Notorious Conor McGregor. For the greatest comeback of all time will take place in Las Vegas for International Fight Week on June 29th. The opponent, Michael Chandler. The weight, Mr Chandler. 185lb."
Chandler responded by saying: "I always said I wanted you at your biggest, your baddest and your best. 185 would look good on me."
The UFC has not responded to McGregor’s announcement yet.
The last time McGregor was in the octagon was during his fight against Dustin Poirier after which he spent almost two years out of action following a nasty leg break at UFC 264 in July 2021.
Chandler and McGregor spent the better part of this year having off-field bouts with one another. The two were supposed to have a grand fight at UFC 296 but that couldn’t happen as the Notorious failed to meet UFC’s policy of six months of mandatory drug testing after which UFC boss announced Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington will headline the final UFC show of the year.
McGregor lost three of his last four fights. Including back-to-back defeats against Poirier at UFC 257 and 264 and a famous submission defeat against the undefeated UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 on October 7, 2018.
At his peak, the Irishman won two UFC titles and impressively knocked out eight opponents. The quickest knockout win of his career came against Jose Aldo in December 2015 when he knocked Aldo out in just 13 seconds.
In his UFC career, the 35-year-old was undefeated in his first seven fights from 2013 to 2015. His first loss came against Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in March 2016.
