Conor McGregor was gearing up for his highly anticipated return to the UFC in early 2025, but after Michael Chandler moved on to a fight with Charles Oliveira, the Irishman was left without an opponent. Enter Dan Hooker. The two fighters crossed paths at a Bare Knuckle event, where McGregor teased Hooker as his next potential opponent and Dana White is all for it.
When asked about the matchup, the UFC President seemed elated and claimed that a fight between the two “would be great” for the UFC. However, White stopped short of confirming the bout, leaving fans eager for more news.
“Um yeah obviously, that would be a great fight. I like that fight. I did not announce the fight.”
‘The Notorious’ has been on the comeback trail since his last fight in July 2021, where he suffered a broken leg in a second straight loss to Dustin Poirier. Since then, he has teased his return multiple times, with a fight against Michael Chandler expected for nearly two years, that almost came to fruition at UFC 3o3, that is until, the Irishman pulled out of a fight for the first time in his life, owing to a broken toe.
Chandler has since moved on and although McGregor would still like to end the feud inside the octagon, a few days ago he had claimed to have been open to the idea of fighting either Nate Diaz or Dustin Poirier or both.
However, after a recently concluded BKFC event in Spain, McGregor hinted at a new opponent: Dan Hooker.
According to Hooker, McGregor and he discussed the matchup, and both fighters are on board—they just need the UFC to make it official.
However, given his own experience with the flaky Irishman, Chandler claims that it will never actualize, at least till he gets his ‘red pa*ty night’.
Chandler still confident of McGregor fight
Michael Chandler isn’t convinced that McGregor and Hooker will actually face off in the octagon. Having been toyed with by the Irishman for the better part of two years, the American knows a ‘grifter’ when he sees one.
Speaking on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” he said, “Conor’s a flavour-of-the-week kind of guy. I think it was just a conversation with Dan Hooker”.
Chandler simply isn’t buying it. The former Bellator champion also pointed out that he believes the UFC would prefer to book McGregor vs. Chandler since it will likely break all their previous PPV records, as it often happens when the Mystic Mac walks down the ramp to Foggy Dew.
At the same time, the American also remains focused on his upcoming fight with Oliveira and isn’t too worried about who the Irishman fights next.
That said, McGregor isn’t done with Chandler. In a recent interview, the Irishman claimed that the beef between Chandler and him needs to be taken care of before the end of day. Right now, the former UFC double champion has two fights remaining on his contract and he already has a few opponents on his mind.
So even if Hooker is who he fights in February, there’s a good chance, fans will finally get to witness McGregor vs Chanlder inside the octagon.
