Michael Chandler still believes that his fight with Conor McGregor will happen, though he’s not hinging his entire career on it.
Chandler has been waiting patiently for the better part of two years for the Irish megastar to finally make his long-awaited return to the Octagon. It nearly happened in June, but a broken pinky toe prompted McGregor to bow out of their UFC 303 headliner in Las Vegas.
Since then, McGregor has been adamant that he’ll fight before 2024 comes to a close. However, Dana White poured cold water all over that claim, telling a room full of reporters on Tuesday that ‘Mystic Mac’ wouldn’t be fighting this year.
🚨 Dana White says Conor McGregor will NOT fight this year#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/riNhpzbzn2
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 14, 2024
In response to the continued delays, Chandler revealed that while he still believes he’ll get his red panty night, he is currently looking at alternative options.
“I am an optimist by default, so I do believe the Conor fight will happen,” Chandler told Lucky Block. “Right now, we are in a period where things are being talked about. What date? Is it Conor? Is it pivoting to a different fight? Is it making the best decision for me and my family? I love the idea that Conor and I did The Ultimate Fighter, we had a training camp, we signed on the dotted line. But as much as I respect Conor, my legacy is not hinged upon this fight.
“I am running my own race, and I’m continuing to move forward. I am at the point now where we are looking at all of the options and not just fighting Conor. Things move fast, and the phone could ring at any time. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m not focused on fighting Conor, but right now when no contract is signed, I’m excited to fight. I’m training every day, and I’m in the best shape that I have been in a very long time, and I’m ready to go out there whether it’s Conor or someone else. There’s always going to be life after Conor if this fight never comes to fruition.
“The sentiment from Dana [White] doesn’t sound as bleak as a lot of people would think. It doesn’t sound as bleak as a lot of people would think, given Conor’s antics with the ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin vest and the drinking Forged Irish Stout at Bare Knuckle FC, but we’ll see. Either way, I’ve always felt that if the Conor fight didn’t happen I’m going to be just fine, and I will put butts in seats, and I will sell pay-per-views, and I will entertain the entire world when I step inside the Octagon.”
As for who Chandler could face in place of McGregor, ‘Iron’ has the perfect opponent in mind.
“The most realistic option for me if you look at the landscape and you consider everything is Charles Oliveira,” Chandler said. “I love the rematch with Charles. I think it’s a great fight to get the fans pumped up. I almost had him finished in the first round, and then I made a glaring mistake in the second round that I would never, ever make again. It was almost a self-fulfilling prophecy that I was working on in camp that turned out to be my demise.
“Me and Charles for the number one contender spot. I beat Charles, knock him out in the first round, then all of a sudden I’m sitting at the number one contender spot, and I get to choose whether I fight Islam [Makhachev], or do I fight Conor next? And why not both?”
Chandler and Oliveira previously met at UFC 262 in May 2021. On that night, the former Bellator champ nearly finished ‘Do Bronx’ in the opening round before succumbing to a well-placed left hook and some ground-and-pound from the Brazilian fan favorite.
3 sene önce bugün! 🇧🇷
Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler'ı yenerek UFC hafif siklet şampiyonu oldu.pic.twitter.com/nKyitn69ZR— MMA 101 Türkiye (@MMA101Turkiye) May 15, 2024
Michael Chandler Tells Conor McGregor That MMA Will ‘Thrive’ Without Him
Michael Chandler is more than confident that his career can survive losing out on the McGregor fight. He also believes that mixed martial arts as a whole will be just fine without the Irishman.
After Dana White declared that McGregor would not be fighting in 2024, the former two-division champ practically pleaded with the bossman to book his return for December in a since-deleted post on X. Chandler used it as an opportunity to inform McGregor that the sport will move on and continue to thrive even without his shadow constantly looming over it.
“Ah Conor, the sport will move on and thrive without you,” Chandler wrote on X. “Put to bed. Laid to rest. Soon a distant memory. You’ve vastly overestimated your importance inside of this game for almost a decade. Godspeed.”
Ah conor, the sport will move on and thrive without you. Put to bed. Laid to rest. Soon a distant memory. You’ve vastly overestimated your importance inside of this game for almost a decade. Godspeed. https://t.co/eQ6UWhK5y1
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) August 14, 2024
Is it finally time for Chandler, and mixed martial arts as a whole, to move on from Conor McGregor?
