White revealed that “The Notorious” will make his return to the Octagon at UFC 303 to headline International Fight Week opposite. Michael Chandler on June 29. McGregor’s last fight ended prematurely when he broke his leg in the third fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. After nearly three years of recovery, the first two-time champion in UFC history is eager to return to the Octagon. He’ll have a perfect dance partner in Chandler, whose last fight also took place at UFC 281 against Poirier. In five UFC appearances, Chandler collected four performance bonuses and fought once for the lightweight title.
UFC 300: Preliminary results | Main Map Results | Official scorecards
Speaking of the lighthearted title, Islam Makhachev makes his next defense of his belt against former interim champion Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in Newark. Makhachev had a banner year in 2023 with two fights against Alexander Volkanovski, including the 2023 Fight of the Year and a first round knockout against Volkanovski in their rematch. Poirier is coming off a decisive knockout victory over Benoît Saint Denis at UFC 299 in Miami. This fight will be Poirier’s third chance to win undisputed gold after losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. The fight will also be Makhachev’s first title defense against another lightweight contender after fighting Volkanovski twice following his victory over Charles Oliveira to win the vacant belt at UFC 280.
Former middleweight champion fights in 5-round co-main event in New Jersey Sean Strickland and former title challenger Paulo Costa. Strickland was last seen at UFC 297 where he lost his belt via split decision to Dricus Du Plessis in Toronto. Costa was last seen at UFC 298 where he fought three tough rounds against Robert Whittaker although he lost the unanimous decision. The fight still seems to play a major role in the middleweight title picture.
Stay tuned to UFC.com for any event updates.