Filming of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) brings out the best and worst in almost everyone, including newly-minted head coaches and future opponents, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler.
As the two fighters begin their respective coaching stints on Season 31 of TUF, McGregor and Chandler will be presented with a multitude of challenges. Not only daily obstacles as coaches, but they will be forced to interact with each other before they square off inside of the Octagon later this year.
While “Notorious” and Chandler don’t really have bad blood or any sort of real beef it’s almost a certainty that they clash heads at some point during and after filming. McGregor has already promised to “slice through” Chandler and is more than confident that his striking will render the lightweight contender useless. Chandler, on the other hand, seems to be a little more reserved about his fight prediction and overall assessment of McGregor.
Late Friday night, Chandler took to social media to share a photo of himself and McGregor inside of the Octagon on the set of TUF 31. Chandler accompanied the photo with a quick blurb suggesting that he’s letting McGregor walk around with an “illusion of dominance.” Check it out below:
Go ahead, you walk out the octagon first, the illusion of dominance is right where I want you to be. #tuf31 pic.twitter.com/lX8gTwdAu7
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) February 24, 2023
“Go ahead, you walk out the Octagon first, the illusion of dominance is right where I want you to be,” wrote Chandler.
Chandler, who has produced a 2-3 UFC record since his arrival in 2021, has been angling for a matchup with McGregor dating back to his days as a Bellator MMA champion. This is Chandler’s shot to prove he has what it takes to defeat “Notorious” both physically and mentally. Things should only get more interesting from here.