Michael Chandler changes tune on Conor McGregor's UFC comeback – to some degree
Yesterday at 05:10 PM
Michael Chandler has changed his tune on UFC star Conor McGregor ever fighting again.
Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) has been linked to a fight with McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) for a few years now, but the matchup never materialized. He did eventually get a date, with the pair scheduled to fight last June at UFC 303 before McGregor withdrew due to a broken pinky toe.
Chandler grew impatient and eventually booked another fight. He ran things back with Charles Oliveira this past November at UFC 309, losing the bout by unanimous decision. He returns against Paddy Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in a five-round co-main event April 12 at UFC 314 from Kaseya Center in Miami (ESPN+ pay-per-view).
So has Chandler finally moved on? Not quite yet.
“Conor is always a part of it, man,” Chandler said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “His road back to the UFC goes through me. It goes straight through Nashville, Tennessee, and Michael Chandler. We’ve got to finish ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31.’ That is the UFC’s sentiment. I think it’s even his sentiment. He said, ‘I’m a man of my word.’
“Well, if you’re a man of your word then there’s only one guy that you’re going to fight when you come back to the UFC, the guy who had a contract with your name on. The guy who signed on the dotted line and still to this day never missed weight and never pulled out of a fight.”
Doubt finally creeps in?
McGregor may still be in Chandler’s sights, but does he think “The Notorious” will ever compete again?
“Heart of hearts is tough man, because I think heart of hearts says Conor is coming back at some point, but if I’m a betting man, if I’m using my brain, I wouldn’t put money on it,” Chandler said. “But that’s where I’m at today, right now. I’m focused on a blonde dude from Liverpool. My heart of hearts says I’m not sure for sure, but Conor’s got to come back to his first love, the one thing that has given him every single shiny object he’s currently chasing taking all these side quests and side jobs, every single thing that he has can be tied back some way or the other to the UFC and the opportunity they gave him.
“Does he want his legacy to be, ‘My last fight I broke my leg, I touted the greatest comeback in combat sports history, I fooled everybody for a couple of years, and then signed on the dotted line to fight Michael Chandler, then pulled out of the fight never to return again?’ I don’t think he wants his legacy to be that. Then again, I haven’t walked a mile in that man’s shoes, so I’m not going to say what he is thinking. But my heart of hearts says he’s coming back at some point, but if I was a betting man, I ain’t putting money on it.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 314.
