Michael Chandler drops bombshell on Noche UFC fight offer, explains where he currently stands on Conor McGregor fight

Michael Chandler revealed the name of the opponent he was offered for Noche UFC 306. 'Iron' has been on the sidelines since a third-round submission loss against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281. He was booked to fight Conor McGregor in July but the bout fell apart after the Irishman was forced to pull out due to an injury.

During the Noche UFC 306 broadcast, the promotion officially announced Chandler vs. Oliveira as the UFC 309 co-headlining bout. While interacting with the members of MMA media after the event, the 38-year-old reassured that he still has his eyes fixed on the McGregor fight:

"I am still going to be thinking about Conor McGregor. As I asserted at the very beginning, McGregor is still not off the hook. Conor McGregor's road back to the UFC still goes through Nashville, Tennessee, and Michael Chandler. We must finish TUF 31. It has to happen. We are at the same weight class. It was too long of a build-up for it to not happen."

Chandler further stated that he was not willing to wait for 'The Notorious' as the timeline for his return was too long. He then revealed that Max Holloway was offered as a Noche UFC 306 opponent to him:

"It was time for me to make a pivot because of the timeline. It was too long [of a wait for me to wait for Conor McGregor's return]. We had a fight booked for Jan. 29, but he pulled out of the fight and we immediately started looking for other options. I was almost going to fight tonight [at Noche UFC 306]. It was offered to Max [Holloway]. Other options were on the table but here we are now, I'm fighting Charles [Oliveira]."

Check out Michael Chandler's comments below (0:20):

Chandler lost to Oliveira by second-round TKO in the vacant lightweight title fight at UFC 262 in May 2021. The rematch is likely to have title implications as both men are in the top five of the official lightweight rankings.