Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson believes Michael Chandler doesn’t deserve credit for potentially defeating Conor McGregor in a non-high-level fight.
Over the past few months, the MMA community began giving up on McGregor’s Octagon return after numerous postponements and false rumors. Luckily, ‘The Notorious’ and his expected next opponent, Chandler, seem to finally be on the same page that they will fight in the summer.
When they inevitably meet in the cage, Chandler looks to add a legendary name to his fighting resume, while McGregor plans to silence the doubters.
Meanwhile, Thomson recently did a podcast with ‘Big’ John McCarthy and claimed Chandler doesn’t deserve credit if he defeats McGregor. ‘The Punk’ explained his reasoning by referencing the former two-division UFC champion’s extended layoff featuring acting and partying:
“When Nate Diaz [defeated McGregor], it was special. We thought Conor was the man, and Nate did it coming in on what? Two week’s notice? That was amazing, and it was the way the fight played out. It was amazing because he got his a*s kicked for the first round. He started coming on, and in the second round, everything happened. But, if Chandler [defeated McGregor], I don’t even think we would be impressed. You beat a dude who’s been doing movies and drinking and partying for three years.”
Watch McGregor discuss his next fight potentially taking place in the summer below:
McGregor tells @RobbieBarstool that everything is all set with the UFC and he’ll be back this summer 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/7YSpV0PxA5
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) March 20, 2024
Josh Thomson claims Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler is “not a high-level fight”
Michael Chandler is currently the number six-ranked lightweight in the UFC. Meanwhile, Conor McGregor isn’t ranked but will always be considered a world-class fighter because of his past accomplishments, especially his time as a two-division champion in the Octagon.
Nonetheless, Josh Thomson doesn’t think McGregor vs. Chandler should be considered a high-level fight later this year. Thomson had this to say during the previously mentioned podcast with ‘Big’ John McCarthy:
“Why are we giving credit to the victory over someone who is definitely been removed completely from training? [McGregor] is not really training the way he was when he was fighting Dustin [Poirier], or when he was fighting Khabib [Nurmagomedov], or when he was fighting Eddie Alvarez and Jose Aldo. So, why are we putting so much on this fight?”
Thomson continued:
“I’m not discrediting the fight at all in terms of the level of entertainment, but I don’t want to give it too much love and be like, this is a high-level fight. No, it’s not. It’s not a high-level fight. We’re not getting the best Conor McGregor.”
Conor McGregor hasn’t fought in over two and a half years, with his last Octagon appearance taking place against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. As for Michael Chandler, the former Bellator lightweight champion has been waiting for his massive opportunity to face McGregor, making him inactive since a third-round submission loss against Poirier in November 2022.
Watch Thomson’s comments about McGregor vs. Chandler below:
