Conor McGregor went into business for himself by calling out Justin Gaethje in the wake of the Highlight’s win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 291.
UFC president Dana White told reporters on Tuesday that Michael Chandler is “definitely” McGregor’s next opponent.
Dana White revealed in the press conference last night: Conor McGregor will return, refight Adesanya and create a new boxing organization..#fight #mma #boxing #ufc
كشف دانا وايت بالمؤتمر الصحفي ليلة أمس: عودة كونور مكريغور وإعادة نزال أديسانيا وإنشاء منظمة ملاكمة جديدة pic.twitter.com/0pl11HUttF
— mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) September 14, 2023
“He likes to f–k with everybody,” White added. “You know what I mean? Especially his opponent, or possible opponents.”
McGregor wrote, “Justin, I’ll slap you around” in a since-deleted tweet after the July 29 event. This prompted a response from Gaethje during the post-fight press conference.
“I like to fight big fights, so it sounds pretty exciting to me. I’m not gonna fight someone on steroids,” Gaethje told reporters. “I’ve never taken steroids in my life, never will … and I don’t want to fight someone that’s cheating. And I probably shouldn’t say that if I want the fight, but it’s the truth.”
Gichie about his confrontation with McGregor: I hope to end his career in such a way that it will be impossible for him to return to fighting after that. #martialarts
غيتشي عن مواجهته لمكريغور : اتمنى أن أنهي مسيرته بشكل يستحيل عليه العودة بعدها للقتال. pic.twitter.com/Lnd491QfLf
— mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) September 9, 2023
McGregor has never tested positive for steroids during his professional fighting career, but a a picture he posted on social media in 2022 led to baseless speculation he might have been using illegal performance-enhancing substances.
There was some confusion last year because McGregor hadn’t been tested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency through September. This prompted a response from USADA to Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com, though the statement didn’t specifically name McGregor as part of the agency’s official policy:
“Once UFC athletes are enrolled in the testing program, they are subject to testing – even when not competing—unless they notify the UFC of their retirement, their contract is terminated, or they are otherwise removed from the program.
“In the event of an athlete’s return to the UFC, they are required to remain in the USADA testing pool for six months before they are permitted to compete. Similar to World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the UFC may grant an exemption to the six-month written notice rule in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to the athlete, but in both cases under the UFC rules, the athlete must provide at least two negative samples before returning to competition. We do not comment on the testing pool status of any particular athlete.”
McGregor had been out of action since July 2021 when he suffered a broken tibia in his bout against Poirier at UFC 264. White confirmed in October 2022 the Notorious would need to undergo six months of drug testing and provide at least two negative tests before he could fight again.
I already am. You are right, Thank you Nick ❤️🙏 https://t.co/PruPsiRWay pic.twitter.com/oY8DGYbWTA
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 14, 2023
UFC announced in March that McGregor and Chandler would be coaches for the new season of The Ultimate Fighter, with the two men set to square off at some point later in the year.
A date for the bout has yet to be officially announced, though White has said it may not happen in 2023.
