McGregor’s striking may have been better than Chandler’s in the past, but will it still be after three years on the shelf? ‘Iron Mike’ bets it isn’t.
Michael Chandler has been talking about the Conor McGregor fight in hypotheticals for nearly two years. Now that the bout is booked for UFC 303 on June 29th, “Iron Mike” is getting into the specifics on how he plans to beat “The Notorious.”
“I don’t need to be getting into a firefight with a guy who has a bigger rifle than me, right?” he told Shawn Ryan in an extensive three hour long interview.
“I would say he’s the better striker from a crisp, longer, more sniping standpoint,” Chandler said of McGregor. “He’s got that great stepback left. He has had great success with guys who aggressively fight him that are a bit shorter, stocky wrestlers with an overhand, he calls it. There was Khabib, there was Chad Mendes, there was Eddie Alvarez.”
“So what I need to work on for this fight is to continue to be the best version of myself. Maybe be a bit more tactical. Realizing that I’ve earned this. Realize that I am the better fighter, I am the tougher fighter, and I am the guy who deserves it more. Whether that be getting in his face, putting him up against the cage, picking him up, putting him down, wilting his spirit a little bit more, taking the wind out of his sails a little bit more.”
While you always want to prepare for the best version of your opponent, Chandler is expecting McGregor to have some ring rust after three years away from fighting (and three years focused on selling booze).
“I would venture to say his time out of the cage has lent itself to his timing not being what it used to be, his movement not being what it used to be, his reflexes not being what they used to be,” he said. “He’s been out of the cage for three years by the time we fight. So I’m just going to, from the first exchange, hit him with big punches, make him second guess himself. Keep my hands up a little bit more than I have in the past.
“Just go out there and get the finish and just absolutely outclass and dominate him, because I deserve this and I’ve earned this.”