McGregor to fight Chandler at UFC 303

The long-awaited matchup between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler is finally official.

McGregor will face Chandler in a welterweight bout in the UFC 303 main event June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the promotion announced Sunday morning. UFC 303 will be this year's International Fight Week pay-per-view card.

McGregor announced in December that he would be returning to the Octagon against Chandler on June 29, but Dana White and Co. initially denied the news.

McGregor, a former lightweight and featherweight champion, will be competing for the first time since UFC 264 in July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg in his trilogy match against Dustin Poirier. The Irishman is seeking his first victory since a first-round TKO of Donald Cerrone in January 2020. "The Notorious" is 1-3 in his last four Octagon appearances dating back to 2018.

Chandler sat out all of 2023 waiting for a matchup with McGregor to materialize. The former lightweight title challenger is coming off a submission loss to Poirier in November 2022 and also holds a 1-3 record in his past four outings.

McGregor and Chandler were supposed to meet in the cage last year after coaching "The Ultimate Fighter 31," but the timeline for the matchup was delayed several times.