{"id":296584,"date":"2023-12-12T17:13:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T17:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=296584"},"modified":"2023-12-12T17:13:02","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T17:13:02","slug":"conor-mcgregor-squares-up-to-former-ufc-champion-ahead-of-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/ufc\/conor-mcgregor-squares-up-to-former-ufc-champion-ahead-of-comeback\/","title":{"rendered":"Conor McGregor squares up to former UFC champion ahead of comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/167\/590x\/secondary\/5108494.jpg?r=1702240160191\"><\/p>\n<p>Irish MMA superstar Conor McGregor, who hasn&#8217;t stepped into the cage since his defeat by Dustin Poirier in 2021, is set to make a thrilling return to the Octagon in 2024 against Michael Chandler. However, he&#8217;s been seen squaring up to another fighter in former bantamweight champion Petr Yan.<\/p>\n<p>McGregor re-started USADA drug testing last month as he prepares to take on Chandler next summer. But the Irishman appeared to tease a potential fight with former UFC bantamweight champion Yan in a tense but playful face-off at the IBA Night of Champions in Dubai.<\/p>\n<p>The pair were seen stepping into the ring and squaring up, held apart by the IBA&#8217;s president. Yan, who has a fight record of 16-5-0, last fought in March when he lost to Merab Dvalishvili. He gave McGregor a stern look as they squared up.<\/p>\n<p>While it&#8217;s unlikely that these two will fight, they seemed to exchange some banter when a microphone was placed between them. This comes after the pair had a bit of a spat on social media, with Yan challenging McGregor after the Irishman claimed in 2021 that he would &#8216;rip him up&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/167\/590x\/secondary\/5108497.jpg?r=1702240160254\"><\/p>\n<p>Yan responded: &#8220;Conor, we all know that you like to talk, but let&#8217;s get straight to the point if you really want to box or fight, I don&#8217;t care about the weight or the rules. I bet you won&#8217;t show up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>After a few moments, they both started laughing and hugged each other.<\/p>\n<p>The Russian fighter has faced defeat in three of his recent bouts and currently doesn&#8217;t have a match scheduled after pulling out of a fight with Song Yadong this past weekend.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Support fearless journalism<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Read The Daily Express online, advert free<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Get super-fast page loading<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/logo\/logo-premium-subscription.png\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/167\/590x\/secondary\/5108500.jpg?r=1702240160297\"><\/p>\n<p>UFC president Dana White revealed in November McGregor is expected to return in July &#8211; ruling him out of fighting at UFC 300 in April which had been rumored.<\/p>\n<p>McGregor is highly expected to face Chandler, with him set to move up to the welterweight division after being seen much heavier than what he&#8217;d been over the last decade.<\/p>\n<p><b>An <\/b><b>AI<\/b><b> <\/b><b>tool<\/b><b> was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/ufc\/1844072\/Conor-McGregor-UFC-champion-comeback-Petr-Yan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Irish MMA superstar Conor McGregor, who hasn&#8217;t stepped into the cage since his defeat by Dustin Poirier in 2021, is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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