Conor McGregor has predicted when he will defeat his next opponent Michael Chandler – and claimed the ‘baddest motherf*****’ belt will be his soon as well.
McGregor, 34, has not fought since July 2021, when he lost his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier after the Irishman suffered a serious leg injury.
But he took to Twitter to insist the unofficial, symbolic but highly prized ‘bmf’ belt is being lined up for him in future by UFC chief Dana White.
McGregor said: ‘And don’t think for one second that the bmf belt isn’t being lined up specifically for the Mac Dad. Little one division twerps.’
His next opponent lined up is American lightweight Michael Chandler, 37, though the start date of that fight is in doubt.
Conor McGregor has pinpointed when he will defeat his next opponent Michael Chandler
‘The Notorious’ star’s bout against his The Ultimate Fighter rival (right) may not happen in 2023
And the Irishman insisted the ‘baddest motherf*****’ belt is being lined up specifically for him
‘The Notorious’ missed a drug-testing deadline and so will not be able to fulfil the six months of random testing by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) before the end of 2023, suggesting he cannot fight legally until next year.
But he posted the word ‘December’ while watching UFC 290 on Saturday night in a now-deleted tweet, suggesting he thinks he will be back in five months’ time.
White refused to rule out a drugs test exception for McGregor when speaking to The Sports Network.
He said: ‘He’s not (back in the USADA testing pool). 100 per cent (it’s possible) Conor McGregor fights this year). We’ll see how that plays out. I don’t talk about s*** until s*** happens, you know what I mean?
‘I’m focusing on what’s happening this Saturday (UFC 290), and then next Saturday. UFC 300 isn’t even on my mind right now.
‘The Conor thing, who the hell knows how that’s gonna play out? Who cares what USADA says? We’ll see what happens when it happens.’
The man nicknamed ‘Mystic Mac’ for his pre-fight predictions of when he would finish opponents then added: ‘I’m going to take him to the 3rd and torture him.’
McGregor has filmed as part of American reality TV show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ alongside Chandler, where the pair clashed face-to-face recently, with McGregor (22-6), who has lost three of his last four fights, posting a picture of his hands either side of Chandler’s face and calling him an ‘idiot sandwich’.