Conor McGregor‘s comeback plans will be discouraged yet again, or at least that’s what a UFC insider has recently claimed. ‘Mac’, of course, was to fight Michael Chandler on UFC 303 last month, after their ‘TUF 31’ appearance last year, and years of back and forth between the two, followed by what only seemed endless teasing from McGregor. However, three weeks from the fight, ‘Notorious’ broke his pinky toe and with it the hearts of millions of fans, Dana White, and of course Chandler.

But it seems McGregor himself was most upset and seems determined for a quick turnaround. The former two-division champ took to X only last week, claiming he will indeed fight Chandler, and do so in 2024. But, this simply wouldn’t work as Chael Sonnen thinks that a simple look into UFC-math will be enough to throw cold water on ‘Mac’s plans to fight this year.

Chael Sonnen thinks Conor McGregor simply cannot fight in 2024

Speaking to his co-host Daniel Cormier on their ESPN MMA show, Chael Sonnen agreed with the former champion that while he believes Conor McGregor will indeed fight Michael Chandler. However, he was confident it wouldn’t happen in 2024, as most of the slots for upcoming PPV events were already filled up.

“Daniel, both parts of the statement can’t be true. That part I am bullish on [that Chandler will fight McGregor], not the part that Conor’s going to fight Chandler and that it’s going to be in 2024. Look it’s a simple date issue. And there’s just not a date left,” he said.

‘Uncle Chael’ also felt that Chandler calling out Nate Diaz, who wasn’t even in the UFC at the moment, to fill in for ‘Mac’, was pure bluff and not a serious offer. The verbose former middleweight title contender felt that while Chandler was going to stick with McGregor, his challenge to Diaz had opened the door for others to call out Chandler. Dustin Poirier, of course, has been feuding with Chandler over the past few weeks.

“Look the Diaz fight, you’re right that Chandler wasn’t going to head in that direction… But when Chandler went in that direction, when he finally put his weapon down and called out somebody else signaling that he’s not fully committed to Conor, that’s when the floodgates opened. The fact that Poirier is even inserting himself [proves that],” he said.

While the UFC veteran has proved his mettle against Conor McGregor, who is yet to make a comeback after their bout in UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3, Poirier has teased retirement but is yet to confirm it. After a valiant show of effort against the lightweight phenom Islam Makhachev that ended with a Round 5 submission, Poirier exclaimed that after losing the title shot, he barely had any reason for fighting over and over without a belt in sight! Now with the recent back and forth between ‘The Diamond’ and ‘Iron,’ there’s a glimmer of hope that Poirier might just find a reason to grace the octagon again.

As for concerns regarding Chandler’s fate, it seems like Dana White came through on his promise. While in conversation at the “The Jim Rome Show,” the head honcho said, “I think poor Chandler wants to wait for Conor McGregor. Whatever he wants to do, if he wants to get a fight this summer, we’ll do whatever he wants…” And as Iron confirmed over an X post in early July, he indeed was offered a bout against none other than the UFC Lightweight champ, Makhachev in October. However, it seems like Chandler is still rooting to finish his story against McGregor, as he wrote, “I’ve been offered @MAKHACHEVMMA in October – but if @TheNotoriousMMA  little pinky toe is ready by Sept, let’s do sphere. Biggest sporting event in history of sports!!!! @RiyadhSeason #ufc306.”

Nevertheless, this ordeal seems to have sounded the alarms for Uncle Chael, who voiced his concerns that Chandler turning down an alternative opponent may prove to have far-reaching consequences for his prospects of fighting ‘Mac’.

‘Uncle Chael’ not sure Chandler understands the implications of turning down Makhachev

Chael Sonnen felt that Michael Chandler turning down the reported title shot, despite his long absence from the octagon, after McGregor pulled out of their fight meant Dana White and Co. were under no obligations to ‘Iron’ anymore. To explain the situation, the verbose UFC analyst used an analogy, claiming that “if somebody owes you a $100 and they come to you they don’t offer you the $100, they offer you $1,000 and you turn it down, they now no longer owe you the $100.”

McGregor, of course, being the $100; and a title shot at Islam Makhachev the $1000 in this analogy. However, what worried Sonnen was that Chandler may not have realized this, and still thinks that the UFC owes him something to make up for his almost two-year-long ordeal. “What I’m not positive of that if Chandler understands when that title fight was offered, that wiped the slate clean [for the Chandler-McGregor fiasco],” Sonnen told Cormier ominously.

What are your thoughts on Chael Sonnen’s comments about McGregor-Chandler? Do you agree with him? Let us know in the comments below!