It seems that wherever he goes, Michael Chandler can't shake the shadow of Conor McGregor.
Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) is set to face UK star Paddy Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the co-main event at UFC 314 in Miami this weekend, as he looks to bounce back from a loss to Charles Oliveira last November.
Before that defeat, the former Bellator champion had spent nearly two years waiting to fight McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), after the two coached opposite each other on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter.
Repeated delays in scheduling the bout left Chandler frustrated. When the fight was finally booked for UFC 303 last June, "The Notorious" withdrew just weeks before the event due to an injured pinky toe.
With McGregor recently announcing that he is currently more focused on his political ambitions than his fighting career, many fans interpreted it as an unofficial retirement from the former two-division UFC champion.
However, the Irishman posted a video of himself training this week, along with the caption: "I am interested in the Chandler/Pimblett fight this weekend."
“I’m sure he’s watching,” Chandler told reporters at the UFC 314 pre-fight press conference when asked about the possibility of resurrecting the fight against McGregor. “He watches and he’s very interested in coming back, but can he put together a training camp? That’s the real question. We don’t know. All I know is you can see by my actions, fighting Charles Oliveira in November and now fighting five months later Paddy Pimblett, putting my ranking on the line, going out to brave the unknown. I’m going to stay active.
“The first 26 months in the organization, I weighed in six times, fought five times, Fight of the Night, Fight of the Year, Debut of the Year, Knockout of the Year – all I do is put on great fights, and on Saturday night I’m going to do it again. … I don’t really care what Conor tweets. If he comes back, we got to finish ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31’, and he’s going to be impressed by my performance on Saturday night.”
Paddy Pimblett, who—like McGregor—was a Cage Warriors champion before signing with the UFC in 2021, has also expressed interest in facing the Dubliner down the line if the opportunity arises. For now, though, his focus is solely on Michael Chandler.
“I’d welcome that fight, that’s where the money is at,” Pimblett said. “But I can’t look past Michael. I’ve got to fight Michael on Saturday night and get the win here. That’s all that matters.”
