Conor McGregor teases December return vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 296

Conor McGregor, once again, is teasing a return to MMA in 2023.

In his latest post hinting that he’s fighting this year, McGregor shared what appears to be a screenshot from UFC Fight Pass showing that he’s set to headline UFC 296 on Dec. 16 against Michael Chandler. The image McGregor shared was originally posted to Reddit by user “Arq4427_.” The event page does not currently appear on UFC Fight Pass, but that didn’t stop McGregor from stirring the pot by sharing the image with his 10.1 million followers on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

This is the latest development of what seems to be an endless saga between McGregor’s desire to return and his requirement to be in the testing pool of the UFC’s anti-doping partner – U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Below is McGregor’s tweet teasing a return for the end of the year:

pic.twitter.com/AnLTLfM8Ha

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 27, 2023

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) were expected to fight after coaching “The Ultimate Fighter Season 31.” However, the bout has yet to be booked, as “The Notorious” has yet to re-enter the USADA testing pool and there hasn’t been a least a date for his re-entry.

McGregor recently casted doubt on a December return at UFC 296, as USADA reiterated that he must not only re-enter the testing pool, but submit at least two clean drug tests over the course of a six-month period before he’s cleared to compete. It seems with this post, he’s renewed his hopes for a return in 2023.

MMA Junkie reached out to the UFC for comment, but has yet to receive a response at the time of this writing.