Michael Chandler Suggests Conor McGregor Delaying UFC Return for "Easier Fight"

"I think he's trying to wait me out."

Only Conor McGregor knows for sure what kind of matchup he wants for his UFC return, but Michael Chandler thinks the former two-division champion would prefer to avoid facing his opposing The Ultimate Fighter coach.

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McGregor’s announcement that he’d reenter the USADA testing pool conveniently came just before the UFC revealed it would be parting ways with its longtime drug testing partner, but the news was an encouraging sign that the Irishman is serious about finally getting back into action at some point in 2024.

It’s still unclear when McGregor will return this year, and Chandler believes that his opposing TUF coach is hoping to wait him out in favor of an easier matchup.

Chandler believes McGregor might be angling for a third fight with Nate Diaz.  :: (Isaac Brekken/AP Photo)

“I think right now he’s trying to wait me out,” Chandler said on Steve-O’s Wild Ride. “‘Cause 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… He can go find a much easier fight than fighting me.”

A trilogy fight with Nate Diaz would certainly be something that McGregor could pitch to the UFC as a massive return fight, but Diaz currently isn’t under contract with the promotion and most recently made his boxing debut in a losing effort against Jake Paul in August.

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Fans and fighters alike have advised Chandler that he might be better suited to end his own layoff rather than wait around for McGregor to return, however “Iron” maintains that he's happy to wait as long as necessary for that matchup to come together. 

Chandler and McGregor appeared as coaches on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter.  / (Zuffa LLC)

“It looks really bad on everybody’s part if Conor comes back and doesn’t fight me after The Ultimate Fighter. Conor could try to come back and act like he runs the show…If I was in his position, if I was his manager, I’d be trying to do the same thing, because fighting me is not the smartest fight.”

McGregor’s name alone is typically enough to generate attention in combat sports headlines, and in recent months talk of his return has frequently overlapped with speculation around the UFC's plans for what will presumably be a massive UFC 300 card on April 13.

Both McGregor and his coach John Kavanagh have suggested that things may not line up for a return at UFC 300, but whatever event "The Notorious" does fight at in 2024 will undoubtedly be one of the biggest combat sports spectacles of the year. 

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