Michael Chandler wasted more than two years of his competitive frame waiting for a Conor McGregor prize fight. It is a fight that substantially never materialized even when it almost went the full way. Primarily because ‘Notorious’ is so easily and notoriously out of rails. Despite the long wait and the UFC 303 pullout, ‘Iron’ keeps his iron resolve and stands by what he does.
When he’s not dodging mandatory drug test pools, Conor McGregor is either out partying or driving attention to national politics. If nothing else, the Irishman is out stepping on his own toes and future return. McGregor almost headlined UFC 303. Now that he isn’t, Michael Chandler lashes back at his critics for questioning his bold choices.
It’s really funny, …You’ve had a thousand fighters sit here across from you and talk to you doing interviews and all of them who have said that I was Conor’s little whipping boy or I was waiting too long or I was wasting my career…every single one of them would have held onto this Conor fight even if they say publicly that they wouldn’t.
Michael Chandler to @DamonMartin for MMAFighting on SBN
McGregor, easily the biggest star and PPV king, has been on the sidelines since his 2021 leg break. The long layoff has resulted in him completely disappearing out of the Athlete listings and UFC Pound-for-pound rankings. The Irishman also fell out of the UFC Betting performance grace. Chandler closed the gap with the meager -115 betting favorite former dual-divison champ.
During his extended hiatus, Chandler was mercilessly mocked by his peers. However, Chandler believes all the naysayers would have jumped to fight McGregor. Contrarily, when he understood that the “Conor McGregor” match would take time, he moved on. Chandler now rematches Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 309 Pay-per-view in November. He has some plans about where that goes.
Rematch with Charles Oliveira could lead to lightweight title shot, says Michael Chandler
The odds on the next Conor McGregor MMA fight are off the board and keep stretching out. UFC CEO Dana White bills a good chance that he returns in 2025, not this year. McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who says he is a bit “out of the loop”, is not instilling much confidence in his anticipated return. Meanwhile, Michael Chandler has moved on from a long-awaited and amped up his other chances.
Michael Chandler is off the highly-anticipated Conor McGregor showdown, moves on to earn gold (Source: marca.com/esagfight.com)The 38-year-old American tells MMA columnist Damon Martin that he’s sure the “Conor fight” will happen; just not now. While he is McGregor’s next bill, the Irishman isn’t his. After UFC 303, the American fighter is done waiting and stalling on what has been a mildly good run.
Chandler — former Bellator lightweight world champion and brand face, even earned a title shot in his sophomore outing. While not official, Michael Chandler is already calling his UFC 309 five-round feature PPV co-mains as a clear No. 1 contender fight for the lightweight title.
Here we are: Now I’m fighting Charles, No. 1 contender fight, …I’ve always wanted to chase the title. That’s always been my goal. I beat Charles and if Conor can get his house in order, finally, then me and him can finish that…If not, I’ll go beat Islam.
Michael Chandler during UFC 306 PPV post-fight media conference interviews
Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) is confident a win in the books against a big name earns him a title shot. Even though he is 1-3 in his last few. ‘Do Bronx’ is a big enough name and has clear trips against both the 155-pound champ and title challenger in recent bouts.
So a win already hoists him as the best, only behind the lightweight title top dogs Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsrukyan. In 2021, both Chandler and Oliveira fought for the vacant UFC lightweight title. After a wild contest, Oliveira stopped Chandler in R2. So while any money fight is good, a rematch of these proportions that can lead to title shots is even better.
