Patience is a virtue for Michael Chandler.
The UFC star continues to play the waiting game in search of a super-fight with Conor McGregor. Chandler was pitted to face the former two-division at the conclusion of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ season 31, but about a year later, we still have yet to see the lightweights collide in the Octagon.
McGregor vs. Chandler most definitely would have fit the bill to headline the upcoming UFC 300 event on Apr. 13. However, to the disappointment of many fans, this was not the case. A light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill will serve as the main event instead as UFC CEO Dana White says we might have to wait until the fall for the return of ‘The Notorious’
Chandler Lifts The Curtain
Former Bellator Champion Chandler speaks on why he believes the McGregor fight didn’t come together in time for UFC 300.
“There’s a lot of complicated stuff happening behind the scenes,” Chandler said of the hold-up on ‘The MMA Hour‘. “Nobody’s had to feel like they’ve waited longer than me, right? I’ve been ready to fight since right after ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. But, I also understand the time off has been good. The time with my family has been good, business has been booming outside of me fighting in the cage for a paycheck.
“But, ultimately Conor’s got his stuff going on. He’s now promoting Road House’ that’s coming out in March. Obviously there was the USADA stuff and then now the new drug testing stuff, there was just all these different layers. Plus what Dana has said, money complicates things. There’s a lot of money involved in this fight. There’s a lot of money in Conor’s camp outside, what he has built and what he has amassed. Everybody, whether you love him or hate him, you gotta respect what the man has built, right? So it has complicated things.
“Either way, the Chandler train is continuing to move forward and we’re not getting off this train.”
Chandler On Missing Out On UFC 300
No matter how stressful this process might be for him, Chandler’s not letting this fight go— especially after waiting all this time for the payday and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that comes with fighting ‘The Notorious’. With that said though, Chandler’s a bit disappointed he and McGregor aren’t center stage for UFC 300.
“This is the fight that is happening,” Chandler said confidently. “I can’t tell you a date, I can’t tell you a weight, but I can tell you the fight is happening and I have way too many assurances that this fight is happening to think otherwise. So, there’s some dates that make sense. Obviously, UFC 300 made a lot of sense. It really did. Gotta be honest with you. I thought that was it, what it was going to be. Makes a lot of sense. Why wouldn’t you wanna be in headlining the biggest card that UFC has ever put on? Right? But ultimately it’s not and we stay patient, we stay training, we stay ready.
“There’s definitely a part of me that [is disappointed of not fighting at UFC] 300. It’s a monumentous card, man. It’s the UFC putting on 300 shows being around now for 30 years. It would’ve been really cool, but also every single opportunity to go fighting in the UFC octagon, under the UFC banner with a UFC push behind you, they’re all huge.”
‘We Just Need Everybody To Stay Patient’
The clock continues to tick for the 37 year-old Chandler, but ‘Iron’ urges all of the fans to keep their wits about them as they await the much-anticipated bout with McGregor to be announced by the UFC.
“Later this year, fall, summer, whatever it might be, but we just need everybody to stay patient. I understand the sentiment. I understand the haste at which people want this fight to be booked. I understand it. Everybody loves to see me fight every time I fight, every time I go to a fight, I’m reminded why people love to watch me fight because I do bring a different speed, a different cadence, a different ferocity than most fighters are willing to go to. Then obviously Conor being the biggest combat star on the planet, people want to see this fight. Patience is a virtue man and I’ve learned that over the last year and I’m gonna keep on keeping on.
“I knew what I signed up for,” Chandler said of his lengthy layoff for McGregor. “I’ll say that every month that goes by, I’m like, man, I didn’t know I was gonna take this long. But, then I’m like reminded of the conversation I had with Dana and Hunter [Campbell] and they’re like, ‘Hey, there’s gonna be something different than you’ve ever done before. This is not like booking a regular fight’. There’s gonna be some highs, there’s gonna be some lows, there’s gonna be some brick walls you’re gonna run into. There’s gonna be some days you want to step off the train, but stay on the train.
“So, we’re heading towards a collision course, Conor’s Road back to the UFC goes through Nashville, Tennessee. He can’t go and fight anybody else. He’s fighting me. It’s Chandler versus McGregor, hopefully this summer.”
Time will tell if Michael Chandler’s patient gamble for Conor McGregor pays off.
