Conor McGregor says Michael Chandler fight can still happen, wants ‘exemption’ or ‘joint partnership’ to fight in BKFC

Conor McGregor | Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images

Conor McGregor doesn’t seem to mind Michael Chandler moving on from him.

On Friday, news broke that Chandler will rematch Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 309 in November. It’s a big change for Chandler, who has spent the the better part of the past two years pursuing a fight with McGregor, but one Chandler said came down to wanting to pursue the lightweight title and his belief that a bout with McGregor can still happen in the future. And apparently McGregor agrees.

On Friday evening, McGregor, who earlier this year became a part owner of Bare Knuckle FC, was in attendance at BKFC 66 in Hollywood, FL, and after the event he spoke at the post-fight press conference, addressing the latest development in his UFC career and saying that a fight with Chandler is still possible.

“As far as Chandler rematching Oliveira, I’m happy with the date,” McGregor said. “It’s November. Maybe we can still do it after, if they’re not going to line me up until December, maybe January or February, one of these dates. Maybe we can still do it. I’m just a bit out of the loop with it. All I can do is carry on doing what I’m doing. I test under the testing administration, I train daily, and that’s it. Let’s see what happens. Hopefully it all comes to fruition.”

McGregor was scheduled to fight this year when he and Chandler were set for the main event for UFC 303 in June, until a toe injury forced him out of the event. It was the latest setback for McGregor who has not competed since shattering his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, and now UFC CEO Dana White insists “Notorious” will not return to action until 2025.

But McGregor is tired of sitting on the sidelines. While a fight in the UFC seems unlikely this year, the former two-division champion suggested a possible co-promotion between the UFC and BKFC to ensure he can get back into action sooner rather than later.

“I’ve two fights left on my UFC contract,” McGregor said. “My opponent that I was scheduled to fight has rescheduled another bout. I would love maybe an exemption, or maybe a joint partnership, Bare Knuckle-UFC, similar to McGregor Sports and Entertainment and Mayweather Promotions. Some sort of agreement where we can get busy. I need to be busy and right now I’m working to get there. So let’s see what happens.”

While the UFC is unlikely to grant McGregor’s request, the promotion does have a good relationship with BKFC and has previously made exceptions for McGregor, most notably when he boxed Floyd Mayweather in 2017. But if it doesn’t happen and McGregor is simply forced to continue waiting, well, he’s gotten plenty of practice at that the past few years.

“Like I said, I’ve got two fights left on the contract and it’s taking a minute,” McGregor said. “But patience is one of the most important skills a human being can possess, study, learn, and implement, and that’s where I’m at right now.”