Dana White Will Not Give Conor McGregor His Wish Against Michael Chandler Despite Irish Superstar Returning From Injury

Dana White finally revealed the date for the impending return of the biggest UFC superstar, Conor McGregor. The former double champion did not lie when he earlier announced his June 29th return against Michael Chandler. Additionally, the UFC CEO also mentioned that the fight would be a five-rounder, which was not what McGregor had planned.

After nearly three years of nursing his injury, expanding his businesses, and making a movie, where viewers appreciated his work, Conor McGregor will be back in action inside the Octagon, which is his main forte. However, according to reports, ‘The Notorious’ did not want a 5-round fight as UFC Hall of Famer inductee Chael Sonnen revealed recently.

Conor McGregor did not want five rounds

During a recent edition of the ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy‘ show, Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier discussed the announcement of Conor McGregor’s return. Interestingly, ‘The American Gangster’ seemed to have had a conversation with Michael Chandler to confirm whether his fight against the former double champion was a main event. However, ‘Iron’ was not so sure about that.

“I just asked Chandler that… ‘Hey, are you told this is a main event? Does it say those words in your bout agreement in a text message from the boss?’ Chandler says, ‘No, it doesn’t and I know why you’re asking, but it is five rounds,” said Chael Sonnen. As Michael Chandler confirmed the fight to be a five-rounder, Conor McGregor wanted only a three-round fight, but Dana White did not give in to his demands.

“Conor wanted three [rounds]. Conor lobbied to try to get three, and I said, ‘So look, that could be because he knows this isn’t the main event,” Sonnen added. Meanwhile, Daniel Cormier seemed to be on Conor McGregor’s side in wanting a three-round fight because he thinks it is the right move to make. Let’s see what he had to say.

Daniel Cormier backs McGregor’s demand for three

It will be almost three years since his last fight when Conor McGregor makes his return on June 29. Having been away for such a long time, Daniel Cormier advocated for the Irishman’s plan for a 3-round fight. Cormier said, “Wanting three rounds is smart by Conor because when you’re coming back after an injury like that, you want a short fight.”

To support his argument, ‘DC’ equipped the example of former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. ‘The All-American’ took a considerable amount of punishment in his return fight against Brad Tavares in the same leg he broke in 2021. Likewise, Conor McGregor suffered a similar injury in his last fight, and as such, Daniel Cormier suggested that a shorter fight would do more good than a longer fight.

“Chris Weidman in his return fight with Brad Tavares, while he did get beat up, imagine if that was two more rounds of Brad Tavares kicking at that leg, beating up those legs that are surgically repaired,” Cormier further stated. However, being the big superstar that ‘The Notorious’ is, ‘DC’ doesn’t think that he will not be in the main event. “Conor McGregor wanting three rounds makes sense, but he won’t get three rounds. He’s gonna get five because it’s gonna be the main event,” the Hall of Famer added.

Conor McGregor has always been in the news despite his UFC hiatus. He recently earned a lot of praise for his role as ‘Knox’ in ‘Road House’. But will he be able to garner the same level of praise for his performance in his comeback fight? We will have to wait and see.