The date of Conor McGregor's UFC return against Michael Chandler has been set

A date for Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon appears to have been set with the Irishman expected to be in UFC action once again in Las Vegas in December.

The 34-year-old hasn't fought in almost two years since his defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on 11 July 2021 in which he suffered a broken leg. However, the Notorious is expected to make his long-awaited return against fellow lightweight standout Michael Chandler.

Although the fight was announced months ago, a date hadn't been set as McGregor was yet to re-enter to the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Last month saw the announcement that the Irishman would re-enter the pool "imminently" in order to seal a December clash which now appears to be scheduled for 16 December.

The fight will be the UFC's final pay-per-view event of 2023 with Las Vegas' 20,000 capacity T-Mobile Arena expected to play host to UFC 296.

UFC president Dana White all but confirmed McGregor vs Chandler would take place in December when asked if the fight would be announced during the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, with the duo opposing coaches on season 31.

White said: “That’s correct [there will be an announcement during the airing of The Ultimate Fighter]. There’s a fight. He has to get into the USADA pool first. He’s filling out the paperwork.

"I don’t know how soon that will be done or what’s going on, but that’s his business, that he’s handling with USADA. But it’s all in motion.

“That’s what we’re shooting for. Hopefully, we have a big fight in Madison Square Garden in November, and then a big fight in December.”

Having broken his leg the last time he entered the Octagon, the former world champion underwent rehab to get himself fighting fit as well as kicking with his once-broken left leg.

Moreover, McGregor is planning to wrap his new titanium shin bone around the chin of three-time Bellator lightweight champion Chandler, saying: "I’m gonna kick this guy in the head. He’s just tailor-made for being kicked all over the place. And that’s what I’m aiming for, I’m aiming to wrap this steel bar around the opponent.

"And you’re gonna see a visual of the leg hanging off, and then you’re gonna see a visual of a head hanging off.”

Topics: Conor McGregor, UFC, Michael Chandler

Dan Hargraves

Dan is a freelance sports journalist currently in his final year studying Football Journalism at the University of Derby. Currently working for SPORTBible and Reach PLC, he has also worked for Snack Media amongst others. His proudest work thus far came at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games where he was a live blogger for the Commonwealth Games Federation, providing sports coverage on the tournament's official website to over a billion people.

@danjhargraves