Michael Chandler responds to Dana White’s sudden disinterest in booking Conor McGregor fight at the White House

UFC star Michael Chandler admits he was blindsided by CEO Dana White’s recent remarks about a fight with Conor McGregor at the White House.

Michael Chandler’s long wait for a fight against former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor seemed on the cusp of coming to an end later this summer, before UFC CEO Dana White intervened.

White, in a recent interview with Complex, shut down the notion of Chandler and McGregor headlining the upcoming card on the White House lawn, tentatively scheduled for June 14th. The UFC head man recently updated fans on when we can expect fight announcements for the card, teasing a mid-February timeframe.

Recent rumors of a McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal showdown were also downplayed by White. McGregor and Chandler were supposed to headline UFC 303 in 2024 before McGregor withdrew due to injury.

Despite the growing uncertainty of a Chandler vs. McGregor fight coming to fruition, Chandler remains confident in the possibilities, for several reasons.

Michael Chandler explains why he remains confident in Conor McGregor fight after Dana White’s remarks

In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Chandler responded to White’s cold take on booking him for the White House card against McGregor.

“Obviously, it’s not encouraging, it’s not great to hear,” Chandler said.

“My reaction is: We will see. We’ll see how this whole thing plays out. Nobody has any idea what fights are going to be on the White House card. Is that 100 percent how it’s going to be? Me and Conor and I are not fighting at the White House? I don’t know. All I know is that I can control what I can control.

“I’ve still got the confident expectancy that I’m fighting Conor McGregor on the White House lawn. So until I’m proven otherwise, we’ll just continue in this course of action until the announcement gets made,” Chandler continued. “We just keep on going, man, until the fights get announced and until Conor McGregor’s next opponent gets announced, until then, we can just hope and pray…[Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal] turned out to be ‘goofy stuff’. If not me, then who?”