Michael Chandler is hoping his upcoming bout with Conor McGregor opens up even more doors for his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) career, including a potential shot at the welterweight title.
Nobody knows for sure when McGregor and Chandler will meet inside of the Octagon following their coaching stints on The Ultimate Fighter, but the matchup is going to happen at some point in 2023. It will mark McGregor’s first fight since suffering a leg injury in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier back in 2021 and the biggest fight of Chandler’s storied mixed martial arts (MMA) career.
While McGregor has been absent from the game over the past two years and isn’t an active contender at 170 pounds, his notoriety alone could put Chandler in a position to fight for the title if he’s able to defeat “Notorious.” After all, McGregor remains the biggest draw in the sport and any time a fighter competes against the Irish superstar their UFC stock skyrockets.
In Chandler’s case, he’s open to a potential shot at the UFC welterweight title if he’s able to earn a victory over McGregor later this year. Chandler even called out perennial 170-pound contender Colby Covington in the process.
“I never say never and I’m never gonna say that I deserve that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that could be in the cards because the UFC knows what good business is,” Chandler told Thiccc Boy (h/t MMA Fighting). “They know it’s all about attention, big names, big fights. Especially when I finish Conor the way I think I’m going to in a dominant fashion. It could very well be in the cards and I would love to go out there and fight Islam [Makhachev] or whoever has the title at that point.
“I wouldn’t be opposed [to a welterweight title shot]. It depends on if it was the right matchup at 170. Colby [Covington] would be a good fight. I would love that Colby fight. I love the idea of a [Jorge] Masvidal fight, I wish him well in retirement. I love that fight. [Nate] Diaz I’m sure is gonna end up coming back, he’ll fight at 170. There’s some cool, big, fun fights out there too if I don’t get the title shot. But like I said, I don’t think I deserve a title shot necessarily. If they give it to me, I ain’t saying no.”
Chandler is undoubtedly one of the promotion’s biggest attractions, but he’s going to be in new water when he meets McGregor later this year. There’s nothing quite like a Conor McGregor fight and Chandler is going to have to rise above the moment to deliver the biggest win of his career. Chandler will have plenty of time to prepare for McGregor, though, as their matchup remains a mystery.
“Conor came out the other day and said there’s gonna be a fight announcement soon or a date soon, so I think I won’t really get nervous or anything about it until June 1,” said Chandler. “That’s kind of when I put my time limit on it if you will. For now, we’re gonna enjoy the ride. Conor loves the sport of mixed martial arts, he loves being the guy, he loves being in the bright lights and those stadiums and whatnot. So, I think he’s coming back. He can’t do all this and not come back.
“I think he knows that [I have more knockout power than him], which really excites me. Everybody knows that with a typical Michael Chandler fight I’m gonna put my foot on the gas, get in his face, put him on his back foot early, and try to knock him out. My mystic Mike prediction: I knock him out in the second round. I beat him up pretty bad, wear him down in the first, make him second guess himself then bam. Hit him with a hard one in the second. He goes down, we jump on the cage, maybe a backflip, we’ll see.”
Thoughts? Should Chandler be considered for a UFC title shot with a win over McGregor?
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