Audie Attar Reveals Conor McGregor Sought Chandler Fight

Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) has been waiting to make his return to competition since June of 2024. Earlier that year, it was announced that McGregor had been booked to fight Michael Chandler (23-10 MMA, 2-5 UFC) in the headlining fight of UFC 303 to cap International Fight Week.

McGregor was to have made his first trek to the fabled Octagon in close to three years' time that summer Saturday, but as the final weeks before fight night approached, everything came unglued. A planned June 3, 2024 press conference was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.

A week and a half later, the fight itself was scrubbed, with Conor McGregor being unable to make the walk to the cage after breaking his toe. Further attempts to rebook the canceled contest went unmaterialized.

Audie Attar on Fizzled Booking of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler

On June 14 all eyes will be on Washington, DC for UFC Freedom 250 on The White House grounds  This seven-fight card will be a rare Sunday night event from MMA's No. 1 promotion.

Earlier on this year, Conor McGregor openly advocated for a spot on UFC Freedom 250, but when the slate for the show was announced on March 7, "The Notorious" had his name get left off of the list of fighters competing on the last card of the spring season. He'll instead fight Max Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) in a rematch during the UFC 329 headliner July 11.

Audie Attar, Paradigm Sports Management founder and CEO, manages Conor McGregor and recently spoke with USA Today's MMA Junkie about the rationale behind McGregor vs. Chandler not coming to fruition.

"Conor really wanted to give that to MIchael Chandler," Attar said of the efforts to try and rebook the postponed contest from 2021. "He just felt Michael deserved it, having gone through the show, having experienced that camp and then the unfortunate injury and cancellation of the bout."

Audie Attar Still Hopeful for Eventual Booking of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler Bout

While Conor McGregor's next fight won't be against Michael Chandler, there's still hope that the contest can be scheduled on a later date. Audie Attar mentioned that he was efforting a rescheduling of the tilt versus Chandler in the past.

"Conor really wanted that to happen," he said. "We did everything to try to push it. At the time, it just didn't make sense for the UFC, but it doesn't mean that it may not happen in the future."

Attar acknowledged Chandler's upcoming contest on UFC Freedom 250 versus Mauricio Ruffy on June 14.

"We wish him the best," he said. "We want to see him succeed so it could become a reality." 

Audie Attar Talks About Conor McGregor's Failed White House Bid and Holloway Rematch

In March, just days before UFC Freedom 250's schedule was announced publicly during the UFC 326 main card, Conor McGregor mentioned that if he didn't get booked for the June 14 show, he'd return shortly thereafter. Despite McGregor not being included in the UFC's plans for the nation's capital, Audie Attar discussed that there was a chance that his client could have appeared.

"The UFC is actually donating so much in terms of giving up a gate revenue," he said. "They're making it up in different ways with the fan zone. Based on the new deal we were able to negotiate, it just made more sense economically to utilize him at International Fight Week. T-Mobile Arena, it's a familiar ground for us. We want to be good business partners. For us, it didn't matter."

Audie Attar then revealed how a second contest against Max Holloway came into the picture for Conor McGregor's return fight.

"Different names surfaced in the conversation and negotiation," he mentioned. "I think from a Max Holloway perspective, we know we've got one on Max and he wants to get that back. We know they faced each other when they were 145ers. We know Max is game and he's going to put on a great performance."