The former top UFC fighter and former Strikeforce lightweight champion, Josh Thomson, revealed this on the latest edition of the WEIGHING IN podcast.
“People are expecting Conor to come back and fight Michael Chandler, but I don’t think we’re going to see Conor this year,” the American said. “Dana White came out the other day and said, ‘When Conor’s ready, we’ll set up a fight for him,’ but I think that’s bullshit because we see the UFC holding up his contract. He has one fight left on his contract, and the UFC doesn’t want him to take that fight and walk away. So they’re holding him to it. That’s what’s going on right now.”
Conor McGregor previously announced two possible dates for his fight – April 13 at the UFC 300 Anniversary event, and June 29 at International Fight Week in Las Vegas – but neither has been officially confirmed.
Conor McGregor, 35, hasn’t stepped into the octagon since July 2021, when he suffered a severe leg fracture in the final match of his trilogy against Dustin Puryear.