Michael Chandler is staying put and ready for December. This may sound silly, given what UFC CEO Dana White just told the combat sports media. Superstar Conor McGregor won’t return until sometime around 2025. However, ‘Iron’ resurrects the idea once again, saying the misinformation is part of the grind.
During a post-fight media scrum on Tuesday, White said McGregor won’t return anytime soon. Conor McGregor himself took to socials to voice his angst against the claims. In a since-deleted tweet, ‘Notorious’ recently told his X followers he would be ready by December. While this poses problems on multiple fronts, Chandler says these could all be a smoke screen.
December is that big pay-per-view card, cap off the year with a huge pay-per-view, Chandler vs. McGregor, makes a lot of sense…Dana, as much as we love him, he has also said some things that were just absolutely false in press conferences and what not, His job is to sometimes give you the exact information…His job is also sometimes to give you misinformation.
Michael Chandler to TMZSports (@TMZSports)
In a way, he could be very acute in his assessment. McGregor was set to return from a three-year hiatus at the UFC 303 PPV headliner. However, he incurred a pinky toe injury and could not make it to media obligations. Even before that, just ahead of his supposed kickoff presser, Dana White had yet again said he had no idea about his return.
⚡️Michael Chandler reacts to Dana White’s comments about McGregor not fighting until 2025
“We all love Dana. His job is to give you exact information, but sometimes, his job is to give you misinformation.”
🎥 @TMZ_Sports ▫️ pic.twitter.com/8zehiVejrk
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) August 15, 2024
McGregor hasn’t fought in more than three years and is just 1-3 since winning the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez in late 2016. As for Chandler, he rolled the dice for a “Notorious” payday and got snake eyes, losing two career years for a fight that may never happen. However, he mocked and baited the Irishman to keep the fight alive. Moreover, he has no regrets about it all.
Michael Chandler does not regret waiting for Conor McGregor
‘Iron’ Michael Chandler has maintained his cool and composition as a fighter from before he joined the UFC. Once a three-time Bellator lightweight titleholder and practical brand face, he made his mark under the banner. Right off the bat, Michael Chandler faced off against big names like Dan Hooker, Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Tony Ferguson.
Michael Chandler revives possibility of Conor McGregor’s return (Source: X/heavy.com)In the limited period since he signed up, Chandler has held a sturdy 2-3 stat and even got a title shot in just his second outing. He debuted on UFC 257 with consensus buyout king Conor McGregor headlining. Soon enough, he would shoot TUF: Season 31 against McGregor. Despite the wait, the odds never truly work against his desire to test himself. Hence, he does not regret waiting for the ‘Connie comeback.’
No regrets whatsoever, I think more than anything, I’m not here to educate people on the math of how long I’ve been sitting out…If you really think about it, I got the call February 1st, 2023, and then we filmed The Ultimate Fighter for a month and a half, So, these people who think that I’ve been sitting out for three years and I’ve wasted two and a half years, wasted all these fights – we were tied out and getting an immense amount of promotion…
Michael Chandler further said, TMZSports (@TMZSports); H/T: bloodyelbow.com
TUF: Season 31 aired for 12 weeks on ESPN – the epitome of the global sporting network. With even a limited appearance, the American lightweight got a major promotion and got to be part of a Reality TV series with McGregor. He’s at a point where he can call out major names based on brand value build-up. These would have been ten-fold if he got to fight McGregor, so he regrets none of it.
