Weeks before their historic showdown, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler have a different training camp outlook. Chandler is mashing blood and sweat in toil ahead of UFC 303. ‘The Notorious’ isn’t missing out on camp. Nevertheless, he is up to his usual “Conor McGregor” ways. Amid recent controversies, the American opponent doesn’t mind it all.
The Irishman planted some doubts when he canceled media obligations for UFC 303’s kickoff press conference. Soon after, on Wednesday, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani bolstered positive reinforcement that the fight was still on, as did McGregor later on. Either way, the grind goes on for the American fighter. Chandler remains focused, as seen from his interview on The Pivot Podcast.
There’s a couple of different schools of thought, ‘Would you ever put it past Conor McGregor?’ No…If you’ve seen Conor you would not put that past Conor…you see Ryan Garcia do what Ryan Garcia did. There’s all kinds of different throwing people off the trail and publicity stunts, if you will…I’m training whether I see Conor in the club every single day…my process does not change and it does not waiver.
Michael Chandler via The Pivot Podcast (@thepivotpodcast)
Even before the media conference snafu, McGregor partied in full swing with his partner Dee Devlin. Head honcho Dana White likened him to the emboldened “Muhammad Ali of mind games.” Michael Chandler douses a similar sentiment, as it isn’t uncommon for the Dubliner. Concurrently, he makes a comparison to Ryan Garcia. Despite all controversies, Garcia edged out Devin Haney in spectacular fashion.
Garcia showed up on fight night, but can the same be said for McGregor? Earlier this week, ESPN no longer promoted #UFC303 for pre-purchase through ESPN+ raised some alarms. However, UFC has dropped its spectacular UFC 303 fight promo yet again. The fight will go on as planned and Chandler will aim to make the best out of it.
Michael Chandler explains why Conor McGregor was the ‘route to follow’ despite rumors
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) has been out of the game since 2021. Still, he holds no to his prime notoriety. The former dual-division champion and sports icon has already capped off a projected $20 million gate in his return event. Many fighters like Sean O’Malley and Ilia Topuria still aspire to follow his blueprints to success.
Michael Chandler had too many assurances for a Conor McGregor bout happening at UFC 303 (Source: irishmirror.ie/Instagram)Yet, these aren’t the sole reasons why Michael Chandler never opted out of the fight. The Kill Cliff FC striker caught up with former NFL stars Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor & Ryan Clark after camp on The Pivot Podcast (@thepivotpodcast). Check what he says about it:
‘Iron’ insinuated that whatever the public perception of McGregor was due to his vices, this was always the fight to make. McGregor’s party footage had him encouraging attendees at the event to take swigs of his Proper Twelve was just “noise”; in many others, his cocky and sloshed behavior rung some bells. But ‘Iron’ and ‘Notorious’ are the classic bull and matador for each other.
Charles Oliveira has also taunted a move to welterweight. With Chandler’s history with Oliveira, that would present a stylistic opportunity. Max Holloway’s BMF defense is also in the works. Yet, he was never once called to pitch in or be backup elsewhere. These only bode positive outcomes for UFC 303: McGregor vs Chandler, Live from T-Mobile Arena.
