Conor McGregor Not Fighting at UFC Freedom 250 Explained by MMA Manager

The UFC Freedom 250 card was a huge talking point in the MMA world over the past few months. Before the card’s announcement, speculation about the headliners was incessant. One of the names most highly touted as a potential main eventer was the UFC’s biggest superstar, Conor McGregor.

The Road House actor himself had admitted wanting to headline the card at the US President’s residence. Even UFC CEO Dana White had initially revealed that the promotion was looking at booking McGregor for the White House card. However, the veteran promoter ultimately announced Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje as the main event of said card.

Later, White also confirmed that the former double champion would return against Max Holloway the month after the UFC Freedom 250 event. But now, the Irishman’s manager, Audie Attar, has revealed that they were gunning for a fight against Michael Chandler. Attar alleges that it was the UFC that declined this matchup despite putting the former title challenger on the June card.

Conor really wanted to give that to Michael Chandler. He just felt Michael deserved it, having gone through the show and experienced that camp, the unfortunate injury, and the cancellation of the bout. Conor really, really wanted that to happen, and we did everything to try to push it. At the time, it just didn’t make sense for the UFC, but it doesn’t mean that it might not happen in the future.

Audie Attar via MMA Junkie

Conor McGregor's manager Audie Attar says returning at #UFCWhiteHouse "didn't make sense" for the UFC 👀 pic.twitter.com/3VPmue9G1E

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 24, 2026

McGregor was originally scheduled to face Chandler at UFC 303. They had even filmed a season of The Ultimate Fighter together to build up this fight. However, the bout fell through after the Irish superstar suffered a broken toe, and was eventually replaced by a rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka.

Attar also wished ‘Iron Mike’ success in his upcoming fight against Mauricio Ruffy. The MMA manager revealed that the McGregor camp wanted Chandler to succeed so they could make their fight a reality. The Irishman’s manager then revealed how his upcoming fight finally materialized.

Audie Attar reveals what confirmed the Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway matchup

Max Holloway has admitted on a livestream that he had known for quite a while that he would face Conor McGregor. The Hawaiian superstar confessed that it was incredibly difficult to keep a secret like that for so long. However, it seems he wasn’t the only one in the mix for McGregor’s comeback after the Michael Chandler fight was ruled out.

After revealing that the former Bellator lightweight was the main focus for his 37-year-old client’s next fight, Attar told MMA Junkie that many names came up as potential opponents. He then revealed what made Holloway stand out among those names.

Different names surfaced in the conversations, and in the negotiations, and I think from a Max Holloway perspective, we know we got one on Max, and he wants to get that back. We know they faced each other when they were 145ers, and we know that Max is game and he’s going to put on a great performance. We just felt it was the right matchup.

Audie Attar via MMA Junkie

The ex-featherweight champion has expressed a desire to get the Conor McGregor fight “back” at some point. This eagerness showed in Holloway moving up to welterweight to get a rematch 13 years in the making. That said, this fight will be Holloway’s first fight in the 170lbs division, whereas his opponent has already fought at that weight class thrice.

Even so, the former featherweight champion remains a sizable favorite in this matchup. Dustin Poirier, a former opponent of both fighters, has predicted that ‘Blessed’ will carry more power in his punches at welterweight. However, if ‘The Notorious’ manages to upset Holloway, a potential superfight against ‘El Matador’ could be on the cards for him.

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