He’s back — Conor McGregor is returning to the UFC to fight Michael Chandler. This comes after a three-year absence from the octagon. We have an early betting look at the fight and an expert pick to make on McGregor vs. Chandler.
- What: Conor McGrefor vs. Michael Chandler
- When: UFC 303 on June 29, 2024
- Where: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
McGregor vs. Chandler Preview
There’s only one way to begin our preview of McGregor vs. Chandler and that’s with a look at the current betting odds. These are already up across the best UFC betting sites and here’s how the moneyline odds sit:
| Fighter |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conor McGregor | -120 | -120 | -120 |
| Michael Chandler | -105 | -105 | -105 |
This lightweight fight will main-event International Fight Week festivities. It will be a five-rounder main event. The bout has been brewing for a year now when both fighters were opposites on The Ultimate Fighter show. It got delayed one too many times, but all roads lead to June 29 now.
Neither fighter has been all that active as of late. For McGregor, he’s been on the shelf three years after breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier. Controversy followed after when McGregor packed on more muscle than we’ve ever seen — leading to allegations of steroid use. McGregor skipped out on USADA testing, which added fuel to the fire. Only McGregor knows what happened, but this fight will be back at 170 pounds, where he was once champion of the world.
Chandler has also not fought since November 2022 when he too lost to Poirier. His reason was more simple: he was waiting out this fight until McGregor was ready. That’s a smart business move considering Chandler is 37 and the McGregor payday will be the best of his life.
Neither has been on the winning side much of late. Chandler has lost three of his last four. The same goes for McGregor. The difference is those four fights for McGregor were from 2018 to 2021. He’s been even more inactive than Chandler, and that’s worrying. The question becomes, how much does McGregor still have left in the tank?
Chandler vs. McGregor Betting Prediction
Honestly, we were stunned when we saw the initial McGregor-Chandler moneyline odds. That’s because “Mystic Mac” is the betting favorite. Here we have a fighter that’s won one fight since 2016 and he’s somehow favored. This is probably more due to McGregor’s star power. He’s going to draw a lot of casual bets, and the bookmakers are “juicing” his line in anticipation of that.
We’ll be blunt and say McGregor is beyond washed. The Conor that took the promotion by storm between 2014 and 2016 is dead and gone. Since then, McGregor has banked hundreds of millions of dollars — potentially billions — from boxing Floyd Mayweather and out-of-ring business endeavors. Money has changed him and that “dog” inside of him is long gone.
But to be fair, Chandler is likely on the decline too. He will turn 38 years old in April — an age where far too many great fighters have ended up too far gone. He’s also lost to top-tier competition since entering the UFC. Chandler’s only UFC wins were against an even more washed-up Tony Ferguson and Dan Hooker.
Despite all this, let’s try to analyze this fight. We would expect this bout to be fought mostly standing up. McGregor is a striker through and through, and once had fear-inducing stopping power because of his precision. Chandler is a wrestler by heart, but he’s all but neglected that in his UFC career. Instead, he’s gotten into fistfights with the likes of Poirier, Charles Oliveira, and Justin Gaethje — all three losses, albeit competitive ones.
Chandler would be smart to lean on his wrestling to win. On the feet, he’s very hittable and McGregor’s best path toward victory is stopping him. However, we just don’t see it happening. Chandler has abandoned the wrestling game and he’s likely here to put on a show on what will be the most marquee fight of his career.
We can’t bring ourselves to bet with McGregor on any condition. In his prime, this would be a perfect matchup against Chandler, who barely guards his head. But seriously, McGregor is a shell of a shell of a shell of what he once was. We recommend “sizing up” on a Chandler wager since he’s almost at even odds. His odds should not be this short and as a bettor, it’s on you to take advantage of the mispricing with a big bet.
How To Bet On McGregor vs. Chandler Fight?
For all things betting McGregor-Chandler, hit one of the bookies below. Per our latest sportsbook reviews, these are the “cream of the crop” for fight betting — whether it’s this UFC 303 matchup or any other on the horizon.
At the moment, this mega fight only has moneyline odds out. However, that will change when the fight nears. As it does, you’ll see all types of bets for McGregor and Chandler, especially in the prop market. Even more money can be made there so don’t sleep on the opportunities.
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