The largest star within the historical past of MMA is headed again to the octagon. On Saturday evening, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that Conor McGregor would face off in opposition to Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas.

McGregor, 35, had beforehand mentioned he would face Chandler, however White’s announcement makes the bout official. McGregor and Chandler coached in opposition to one another on The Final Fighter final 12 months, with the concept that the 2 would struggle after the tip of the fact present.

McGregor (22-6) final fought in 2021 when he broke his left leg in opposition to Dustin Poirier. It marked his second straight loss to Poirier and third loss total in 4 bouts. He’s solely had 4 MMA fights since 2016.

McGregor has been massive workplace for the UFC with the six largest fights of all time primarily based on pay-per-view buys and eight of the highest 10. The most important viewers was for UFC 229 in opposition to Khabib Nurmagomedov that had 2.4 million buys and grossed roughly $180 million from the published.

The Irish MMA artist was additionally a part of the second best-selling boxing match ever when he squared off in opposition to Floyd Mayweather in 2017. Showtime mentioned the struggle generated 4.3 million home PPV buys and greater than $600 million in complete income.

McGregor ranked fiftieth in Sportico’s tally of the world’s highest-paid athletes of all time. He’s earned an estimated $555 million when adjusted for inflation, and $465 million in nominal {dollars}. Greater than half of his complete earnings had been from the sale of the whiskey model he launched in 2018, Correct No. Twelve, and the Mayweather struggle.