McGregor Tried Persuading Oliveira To Wait Years For Red Panty Night

Conor McGregor is on the verge of finally booking his fight against fellow lightweight contender Michael Chandler, but there was a time when “Notorious” wanted Charles Oliveira to wait around for a Red Panty Night.

Despite not competing since breaking his leg opposite Dustin Poirier back at UFC 264 in July 2021, McGregor remains the biggest star in combat sports today. Chalk that up to his millionaire lifestyle and lucrative crossover into Hollywood. The Irish superstar knows how to stay relevant even when he isn’t doing the thing that made him famous in the first place.

Luckily, Chandler was willing enough to put his budding UFC career on hold to wait around for McGregor’s long-awaited return. It may have taken much longer than expected and some even believe Chandler wasted the prime years of his career waiting for “Notorious,” but the two fighters are finally lined up for a clash this summer. The date and location is yet to be determined.

Earlier this week, Oliveira’s head coach, Diego Lima, revealed that McGregor had previously asked “Do Bronx” to wait around for his own Red Panty Night. This was right before Oliveira fought Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 280 in Oct. 2022. Oliveira ultimately declined the offer.

“Before Makhachev, McGregor texted Oliveira telling him to wait, not to fight,” Lima told MMA Fighting earlier this week. “They exchanged direct messages. McGregor sent him a video training and running at the beach.

“If we had waited for him, how long would that have been? We’d be three years with no fight already. We can’t wait. We need to work.”

While a matchup between McGregor and Oliveira would have been nice to see these things have a way of working themselves out. If Oliveira would have waited for “Notorious” to return from injury their fight would just now be happening. That’s crazy to think and ultimately a scenario that would have canceled out Oliveira’s memorable matchups with Makhachev and Beneil Dariush.

Fortunately, there’s still a window of opportunity for the two fighters to meet. If Oliveira is able to defeat Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 next weekend and McGregor is able to get past Chandler in his Octagon return, there would be a chance to revisit that matchup. However, either fighter may opt for a shot at Makhachev’s lightweight crown before anything else.

What do you think? Do we ever get McGregor vs. Oliveira?

Let’s discuss!