Conor McGregor Says He Will Announce His Next Fight Date/Opponent Tomorrow
Conor McGregor was seen ringside at some fights in Saudi Arabia last week, openly showing frustration towards the UFC for not getting him back in the octagon soon enough, and threatening to fight Manny Pacquiao instead....
"Get me back in there. The Mac has lots to offer and loads to deliver. They are talking Manny here in Saudi. The lads in the UFC aren't really talking any. So, the lads here are talking Manny, the UFC aren't talking any," McGregor told Talk Sport.
"Give me something. I'm supposed to be back in April. It was supposed to be December! For all the figures I've brought in this game, I sell more than all of them combined. No one in the history of the fight game has been treated the way I've been getting treated at this minute. From what I came through, to what I bring. They fucking should open the floodgates for me. I'm waiting! And my patience is wearing thin on me waiting."
Transcription via BoxingScene
....and Dana White was in Abu Dhabi, so they met up somewhere and talked a few days ago.
Nobody's really sure what the status of those talks are, but Conor's presumed UFC 300 opponent, Michael Chandler, certainly wasn't gonna stay silent while watching from the sidelines....
Chandler's been fucked as much as anyone by this whole thing, by being forced to just wait around and not fight anyone until Conor's ready to come back. It'll all be worth it in the end if he gets the fight, but it doesn't look like a sure thing right now.
This whole situation is pretty bizarre to me, because if everything we have heard from Conor's side is true, what's the hold up? McGregor is publicly begging to be given an opponent for UFC 300 in April, so why wouldn't the UFC just instantly send him a contract to fight Chandler? It can't be that easy, right?
Could it be a money thing? Does Conor want crazy boxing money for this fight, or a figure that'd come close to matching what Saudi Arabia is willing to pay him to fight Manny Pacquiao? Or does he want equity again? I really don't know, but you'd have to think there's more to this than what we currently are being told. There's no world in which Dana White DOESN'T want Conor McGregor back.
Fingers crossed tomorrow's announcement is UFC 300/Michael Chandler related. I fear it'll be a Manny Pacquiao fight announcement (maybe even a fake one to play chicken with the UFC, some kinda troll) but we'll see.
P.S. I don't even think he'd be allowed to fight Pacquiao without UFC permission. He isn't a free agent. Hypothetically, they could give him permission and co-promote it like they did the Mayweather fight - but why in the world would they wanna do that?? We want the Mac back in the octagon, where he belongs.