Legendary MMA fighter Conor McGregor was recently called out by his arch-nemesis and fellow MMA fighter Michael Chandler on WWE Raw. The latter showed up at the WWE show on Monday to call out the Irishman for postponing their fight, which has been brewing for the past year. The Bellator lightweight champion sent fans into a frenzy after promoting the eventual fight on Raw.
Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor have been feuding for a while now. The two coached their teams against each other in 2023’s The Ultimate Fighter series, and a match between the two has been brewing ever since. McGregor even set a date announcing his comeback earlier this year, though there have been no confirmed bookings for the match from the UFC.
Michael Chandler Calls Out Conor McGregor On WWE Raw
The UFC and the WWE promotions have been operating under the same company, TKO Group Holdings for quite some time, and hence crossovers between the two promotions seem to be happening now. UFC star Michael Chandler made a brief appearance on WWE Raw earlier this week and sent fans into a frenzy with his promo.
The Bellator champion stoked the fire again this time, calling out his arch-nemesis Conor McGregor for a bout at the UFC Octagon. The fight has been brewing since last year, but there have been no confirmed bookings between the two champions. Chandler frustratedly announced that he was tired of waiting around for the Irishman on WWE Raw. He said,
“Hey, now there’s a man from Ireland that’s been making me wait for way too long, and I’ve still got one dude on my mind! Conor McGregor, get your candy a*s back to the octagon! We’ve got some unfinished business, boys! God bless. I’ll see you at the top!”
The promo sent many fans into a frenzy as it was an unexpected event to occur on WWE. Chandler and McGregor had been feuding ever since they coached rival teams on The Ultimate Fighter. Earlier in January 2024, Conor McGregor announced that he would be making his comeback to the UFC and would be fighting Michael Chandler (via X/Twitter),
“I’d like to announce the return date for myself, ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor. The greatest comeback of all time will take place in Las Vegas, International Fight Week of June 29. The opponent, Michael Chandler — and the weight, Mr. Chandler, 185 pounds.”
Though 185 pounds was not the usual weight class in which Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler competed, Chandler accepted the challenge. However, the match was not confirmed by the UFC and there have been no updates regarding the booking since then.
Michael Chandler’s Promo On Raw Was Impromptu
Michael Chandler’s promo for WWE Raw was reportedly not planned well in advance and the Bellator champion just improvised his lines. He mentioned on the podcast The MMA Hour that he was pushed into the arena with a mic that was ‘gated’ and asked to do a promo for the WWE promotion. The noted fighter took it as a challenge and did the now-viral promo.
“Two minutes before, they said, ‘Hey, they’re going to put the camera on you.’ I said, ‘Why don’t you give me that microphone?’…and then magic happened. … Less than five minutes [of notice]. There was nothing prepared. Nothing. I was thrown into the fire. Smacked myself a couple of times and then we went.”
Michael Chandler’s challenge to Conor McGregor got many eyes on WWE Raw. With Wrestlemania XL on the horizon, Chandler’s involvement in the promo reportedly worked well with the top brass at WWE. UFC and WWE come under the same parent company and Chandler mentioned that his appearance could be the beginning of more synergy between the promotions.
Apart from impressing WWE’s chief content officer Triple H, Michael Chandler’s challenge to Conor McGregor also reportedly sent fans into a frenzy, who were excited for a match between the two stalwarts.
That was fire highkey
— Nicholas (@NicholasPas5) February 20, 2024
What world are we leaving in right now?? Shit is getting crazy in the WWE!
— FantasyFootballJunkie (@FFBjunkie1) February 20, 2024
Macgregor is so scared of Chandler he will never fight with him
— Hasnain Shah (@shahhasnain77) February 20, 2024
Absolutely epic! Can't wait to see if Conor responds to the callout.
— Space Planetary (@space_planetary) February 20, 2024
It's going to be a wild ride! 🥊 #WWERAW
This dude cut better promos than some of the people in WWE
— Jtmon11 (@jtmon11) February 20, 2024
Lmao I marked out. That was dope asf
— Rambo (@Rambo336bc) February 20, 2024
While no match has been confirmed, with such interest in seeing the two hash out their rivalries in the Octagon, the UFC is bound to confirm a booking between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler.
