- Drew Dober backed Michael Chandler to defeat Conor McGregor
- Dober doesn’t think the UFC sees him as a viable option to match up with Paddy Pimblett
Former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor has spent about two years on the sidelines after breaking his leg in his last outing against Dustin Poirier in Jul. 2021. He appears to have recovered well and inching closer to stepping inside the octagon once again. During his time away from competition, McGregor gained a significant amount of muscle mass. Since he was also out of the USADA drug testing pool, allegations of steroid use spread like wildfire.
McGregor got confirmed to make his comeback against Michael Chandler targeted for later this year after wrapping up The Ultimate Fighter 31.
Drew Dober backs Michael Chandler to beat Conor McGregor
In an exclusive interview with Middle Easy, Drew Dober shared his prediction for the highly-anticipated fight between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler.
“As of now, I have Michael Chandler winning, not winning spectacularly,” said Dober. “I don’t think it’s going to be like a big thing but I just don’t think the decisions of Conor McGregor is going to complement his fighting style. He fell in love with boxing and he was very flat-footed against Dustin Poirier. Now with he’s put on some size and I don’t think that’s going to complement his fighting style. I just don’t think the decisions Conor is making is going to showcase a better Conor in his next fight.
“Michael Chandler just gets better every time. If this fight happens, which again is all up in the air, I have Chandler looking like the superior fighter in this one.”
Dober doesn’t think Paddy Pimblett would fight him
The 34-year-old does not believe he would be a suitable option for Paddy Pimblett to compete with inside the cage. There had been calls online about pitting Dober against the Englishman but he reckons the UFC would want to protect their rising star.
“It was not offered because I feel like there’s another party that wanted to say an immediate no. I’m not a fight that Paddy wants. It’s just not on the table for him. UFC doesn’t want it, Paddy doesn’t want it, nobody wants it, I’m the only one that wants it and the internet so it was a fantasy matchup because I think Paddy just became a heel and people just want to see him get knocked out. I’m notorious for killing hypes so it was an internet made fantasy which I agreed to. I hit up the UFC before thinking about this, I’m all for it but no official offer unfortunately.”
Dober expects Pimblett to face another grappler in his next outing.
“I think they’re going to put him with an unranked seasoned grappler. I think him fighting another grappler will just showcase his abilities and give him enough time to improve his stand-up. We saw a bunch of holes in his last fight whether you think he won or not. There were some holes and I think UFC really wants to keep pushing him.”
Drew Dober is scheduled to mark his return to action against Matt Frevola at UFC 288 on May 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
You can watch the full interview below.
