Dana White Completes UFC 300 With Islam Makhachev and Conor McGregor Return Fight Announcements at 302 and 303 Respectively

The Mac is officially back! And this time, it is just not another social media update from Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler, but straight from the head honcho himself! UFC CEO Dana White just announced Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler for International Fight Week. The weight – 170 lbs. This fight has been more than a year in the making, but fans finally have a date. And that is not all there is to it as White disclosed yet another much-awaited comeback. But we will get to that in a while!

Despite the hurdles that lasted for months, the last few weeks had been favorable for the Irishman who was aiming to make a comeback early last year. After the USADA roadblocks and contrasting statements with Dana White, the 35-year-old will finally make the walk to the Octagon again on June 29, at UFC 303.

“Conor is a die-heard UFC guy and will be till he retires and beyond,” said White in response to a journalist’s question about the same.

White announced McGregor and Chandler as the coaches for season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter early last year. The show concluded in August and almost a year later, the coaches are beefing. This fight will be McGregor’s opportunity to answer all the doubts about his credibility and get his confidence back. The Irishman has already laid out plans for his comeback, dropping names like Justin Gaethje, Nate Diaz, etc. But UFC 300 just changed the landscape in a big way.

In the same announcement, White announced Poirier vs. Makhachev and Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa for UFC 302 on June 1st.

Dana White announces lightweight title fight post UFC 300

According to White, Islam Makhachev will defend his title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey on June 1. This will be the first time Makhachev is defending the title against someone not named Alexander Volkanovski. In the co-main event, Sean Strickland will take on Paulo Costa.

Poirier, who recently won at UFC 299, had wanted a third shot at the 155 lbs divisional gold, and Makhachev was more than happy to oblige. Furthermore, a second contender just entered the picture when Arman Tsarukyan beat Charles Oliveira in a main card bout on UFC 300.

To top it all off, Max Holloway announced his entry into the 155 lbs division with an ecstatic KO win over Justin Gaethje for the BMF title. The new BMF champ was game to fight both the lightweight champion and the featherweight champion, and could easily get either one of those fights later this year.

Subsequently, this will be Strickland’s chance at redeeming himself back to the title run after he lost his middleweight belt to Dricus du Plessis in January this year. As for Borrachinha, he will be coming into the fight after a recent loss against Robert Whittaker at UFC 298.

The lightweight and the middleweight division has always managed to stay the center of attention and UFC 300 was no different. How else do you explain post-fight announcements taking all the spotlight just minutes after highlight reel finishes in multiple fights in the most stacked PPV card of the year?

What are your thoughts on this announcement? How do you see these fights playing out? Let us know in the comments.