Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Conor McGregor is under the impression that the UFC may be cooling on the idea of a fight against Michael Chandler.

McGregor and Chandler have been serving as coaches on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, and the expectation has been for the two former MMA world champions to face one another at the end of the season. Since the season began, McGregor has been calling other fighters out left and right — including Nate Diaz for a trilogy fight, and Justin Gaethje in a potential BMF title fight — and now, the biggest star in UFC history is claiming that the UFC may be looking at other options.

“I’ll do it if they want, no [problem],” McGregor said in a since deleted tweet. “I don’t think they want him not more [though]. There’s loads of juicy fights around and my return date is my return date. I never gave a f*** about who it was. Ever. I’ll fight anyone. I’ll even fly them to me, ask [Paulie Malignaggi]. Flown in and [beat] around.”

Chandler went on to react to McGregor’s claims, and essentially called him a liar.

“This dude… I remember when his words held an immense amount of weight. Just tell the truth,” Chandler said in response.

During the season, McGregor and Chandler got face-to-face with one another following a Team Chandler victory, which led to McGregor shoving Chandler in the face. Since then, McGregor has seemed lukewarm, at best, when it comes to facing the former Bellator champion in his first octagon bout since suffering a nasty leg injury in first-round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.