Michael Chandler believes Conor McGregor is postponing his UFC return in hopes of getting an “easier fight”

Michael Chandler believes Conor McGregor is postponing his UFC return in hopes of getting an ‘easier fight’.

The UFC and CEO Dana White lead everyone to believe that following ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31 (TUF)’ we would see opposing coaches Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA) and Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA) battle it out in the Octagon.

To date that has not taken place, nor has it even been scheduled.

It is true that McGregor was required to enter into the USADA testing pool and adhere to their regulations of screening for 6 months prior to entering back into the cage.  True also is that the partnership between USADA and the UFC ends at the conclusion of this year.

Speaking on ‘Steve-O’s Wild Ride’, Michael Chandler had this to say about the McGregor bout:

“I think right now he’s trying to wait me out. I mean, because if you were him, would you want to wait as long as possible for the guy like me, who’s a real fighter, who wants to be in there, who wants to compete so that I say, ‘Screw it, I’m gonna go fight someone else’ and then he can go fight an easier fight: Nate Diaz .”

Continuing, ‘Iron’ elaborated (h/t MMAFighting):

“It looks really bad on everyone’s part if Conor comes back and doesn’t fight me. Conor can try to come back and act like he runs the show and say, ‘I want to fight this guy, I want to fight that guy,’ which if I was in his position, if I was his manager, I would be trying to do the same thing because fighting (Michael Chandler) is not the smartest fight.”

McGregor, 35, has not fought since July of 2021 at UFC 264 where he suffered a TKO defeat courtesy of Dustin Poirier (29-8 MMA). Breaking his leg in the process, ‘Notorious‘ had to undergo surgery and recuperation before training for his return. As of January 2024 it will be 2 1/2 years that McGregor has been out of circulation.

Chandler, 37, while only winning one of his last four fights in the Octagon, has been active, most recently suffering a loss to Dustin Poirier in November of 2022 at UFC 281.

Do you agree with Michael Chandler that the Irishman is avoiding fighting ‘a real fighter’ like himself?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!