Michael Chandler believes Conor McGregor won’t be the same fighter he was when he returned to the Octagon this summer.
McGregor will return for the first time in nearly three years in a welterweight bout against “Iron” in the main event of UFC 303 on June 29th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Notorious” last fought in a trilogy with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021, where he lost by technical knockout in the first round due to a broken leg.
The Irishman resumed training in early 2022, but did not return to the UFC’s drug testing pool until October 2023. The former two-time UFC champion had hoped to return at UFC 300, but UFC 303 was the only time he would be able to return. Chandler believes the long period of inactivity has taken a toll on McGregor’s timing, movement and reflexes.
“What I need to work on going into this fight is continue to be the best version of myself,” Chandler said on the Sean Ryan Show. “Maybe being a little more tactical and realizing that I earned this and realizing that I’m a better fighter, a tougher fighter, a guy who deserves it more. Things like hitting him in the face, pushing him up against the cage, picking him up, putting him down, chilling his spirit a little more, taking a little more wind out of his sails with a guy with a bigger rifle than me. There’s no need to do that, right? I think I hit it harder than he did.
“I would venture to say that his timing, his movement, his reflexes are not what they used to be in the time he’s been out of the cage,” Chandler said. “He’s out of the cage now, but not until we fight. So from the first interaction, give him a big punch, make him think again, raise your hand a little more than you’ve ever done before, pick him up, give him a lift if you need to. I’m going to strangle him if I want to, go out there and finish, absolutely outclass him and dominate him, because I deserved this and I earned this.”
Chandler has not fought since a submission loss to Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022. The former UFC title contenders have since rallied to pursue McGregor, and the two even starred together as rival coaches on last summer’s The Ultimate Fighter 31. “Iron” is now 2-3 with wins over Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
