Conor McGregor shares viral UFC Fight Pass screenshot claiming he’ll fight Michael Chandler at UFC 296

Conor McGregor is continuing to push for a fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 296 on Dec. 16, 2023.

McGregor and Chandler coached opposite each other on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 31, and the general plan has always seemed to be a fight on UFC’s last pay-per-view (PPV) show of the year. The only problem? “The Notorious” continues to be outside the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing program, which requires fighters spend six months being randomly tested before being allowed to compete.

Sure, UFC could always request an exemption, which would allow McGregor to fight after just two tests. But, the promotion seems reluctant to admit that’s the route it will go (it’s just a bad look). The Irish sports star recently uploaded a voice recording to X (formerly Twitter) saying, “They’re not going to let me fight.” One day later his tune had changed and he tweeted, “December is back on the table.”

Now, McGregor is pushing for the date by sharing a viral claim from a fan that UFC Fight Pass had UFC 296 labeled as “Chandler vs. McGregor.” Conor shared the alleged screenshot from UFC’s streaming service in another tweet.

Now let’s be clear: there’s no confirmation that the UFC Fight Pass screenshot is legit. No one is able to find it now. It may be fake. Or, it could be another employee error. It’s certainly not confirmation that UFC is going ahead with McGregor vs. Chandler on Dec. 16, 2023.

UFC has certainly goofed in the past with big fight leaks. Jon Jones’ return fight against Ciryl Gane was leaked when a T-Mobile employee accidentally advertised the fight on arena video screens before UFC had a chance to announce it. Could this be another instance like that? It’s possible. But, we wouldn’t go and book plane tickets to Las Vegas just yet.

The only thing this shows: Conor McGregor is still advocating hard for a return before the end of 2023. We’ll keep you updated as to whether UFC actually indicates that’s the direction it’s going. As of right now, McGregor vs. Chandler remains in limbo.

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