When where who? Will McGregor return?
In a competition known for its big performances and even bigger personalities, these two factors will come together like never before at UFC 300.
The promotion is approaching its 300th pay-per-view event and the competition’s most recognizable figure, Conor McGregor, is expected to appear on the card.
Although the UFC will finish 2023 with UFC 296Attention has already shifted beyond the upcoming title fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington after McGregor outlined his intentions to fight at UFC 300 on Twitter.
Many other big names in the UFC world were mentioned on what could be a dream fight card – including an undefeated phenom, a bantamweight champion and possibly the long-awaited return of another fighter to the octagon.
But there’s no denying it: As the historic milestone draws ever closer and McGregor publicly announces his plan for the future, anticipation in the MMA community is at an all-time high.
Before UFC 300 arrives, here’s everything you need to know about the organization’s big milestone event.
When is UFC 300?
Most likely April 2024
All signs point to UFC 300 taking place in the first half of 2024, considering the fight organization plans monthly pay-per-view events. So the big 300 are headed for an April show.
To be clear, this remains just speculation for now. In March 2023, the UFC held both UFC 285 and 286 in the same month.
As of late October, nothing official has been announced following UFC 297, which will take place on January 20th in Toronto, Canada.
Where is UFC 300 taking place?
Most likely Las Vegas
The UFC’s previous milestone events, UFC 100 and 200, both took place in the “Fight Capital of the World,” Las Vegas, so indicators suggest the 300th pay-per-view event will take place there.
More specifically, the stadium where it would most likely be held would be the T-Mobile Arena, which hosted UFC 200 and most recently UFC 290 – led by Alex Volkanovski’s third-round win over Yair Rodriguez.
Will Conor McGregor fight at UFC 300?
After a nearly three-year hiatus from the octagon after suffering a severe fracture of his left tibia and fibula against Dustin Poirier; A return to UFC 300 would be a return of sorts for McGregor.
But 300 appears to be the most realistic chance to see the former lightweight and featherweight champion since the incident in 2021, with McGregor talking about UFC 300 on Twitter in classic “Conor” fashion.
In a since-deleted post, McGregor said: “Imagine me running up that bastard with a chainsaw, UFC 300 is mine!!!”
But that wasn’t enough, as the Irishman followed up this tweet by saying: “This is Sparta baby, take those panties off.”
So far, we haven’t heard McGregor specifically mention an event or return date to the octagon, so these tweets have fans really excited.
Who will Conor McGregor fight?
Michael Chandler
It has been reported for months that Conor McGregor would return to the octagon to face The Ultimate Fighter’s rival trainer, Michael Chandler.
The two trainers facing off at the end of The Ultimate Fighter season has been the norm for some time and many hoped this would happen in 2023. But UFC boss Dana White has officially announced the fight cards. Neither McGregor nor Chandler are in sight for the rest of the year.
But that’s because the biggest hurdle to McGregor’s comeback is getting back into the UFC’s anti-doping testing pool amid speculation that the former two-weight class champion used banned substances to heal his leg injury.
In order for him to fight in UFC 300, McGregor has submitted his exit papers and will have to wait six months in the USADA “testing pool” before stepping into the octagon. And step one is underway after Dana White confirmed that McGregor has filed his paperwork.
“He is not officially in the USADA testing pool,” White said.
“He has submitted the documents, it will probably be submitted by Monday (October 30). Again, don’t hold me to this, but the paperwork will be filed sometime next week.”
This shows Conor McGregor’s first serious attempt to get back into the UFC and potentially become the headline fight for UFC 300.
Who else is fighting at UFC 300?
MMA fans will want to see many big names in action on the UFC 300 card, and some of the best fighters in the world have already been selected to potentially take part.
There’s no denying that Conor McGregor will be making headlines when he fights at UFC 300. But we could see a title fight that determines the event.
Here is a list of possible fights for UFC 300:
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland?
It would be incredible to have an undefeated fighter of Khamzat Chimaev’s caliber at UFC 300, as the 13-0 fighter has taken the competition by storm.
Defeating former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman by decision at UFC 294 means Chimaev is the next challenger in the middleweight division, whose current champion is Sean Strickland.
Sean Strickland pulled off an upset against Israel Adesanya in September and would be ready to return to the octagon in April 2024.
Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera?
O’Malley’s profile is rising and there’s no better place to showcase the next face of the UFC than at the milestone event.
The bantamweight champion continues to dominate and could face Marlon Vera, who stopped O’Malley three years ago.
Robert Whittaker vs. Kamaru Usman?
Usman made his middleweight debut at UFC 294, and now Robert Whittaker wants him to stay in the weight class for a potential fight at the 300th pay-per-view.
Whittaker recently said he hopes Usman sticks around to make things interesting, whip fans into a frenzy and beg Dana White to sign on for UFC 300.
The Australian has not fought since mid-2023 and lost by knockout to South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis in the second round.