‘Iron’ Michael Chandler has addressed his long-awaited fight against Conor McGregor and highlighted why the Irishman seemingly wants to face him at middleweight.
A former UFC featherweight (145-pound) and lightweight (155-pound) champion, McGregor has also competed in the welterweight (170-pound) division. Meanwhile, Chandler briefly fought at welterweight but has primarily competed at lightweight.
McGregor, who’s been on hiatus from MMA competition since July 2021, recently posted a fight announcement video. ‘The Notorious’ claimed that his comeback fight would be a middleweight bout against Chandler in Las Vegas on June 29, 2024.
Taking to his YouTube channel, ‘Iron’ acknowledged that the Irishman has asserted that their fight would transpire during the UFC’s International Fight Week in Vegas on June 29. Nevertheless, the UFC hasn’t officially announced the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler middleweight bout.
Chandler emphasized that the UFC hasn’t confirmed the fight’s date and weight class. Furthermore, he put forth two reasons why McGregor is lobbying for their showdown to be contested at 185 pounds. He stated:
“There’s two reasons why it’s at 185. Number one, Conor wants to continue the narrative that he’s bigger than he actually is. And you guys think he’s bigger because of lights, camera angles, and a great photographer. Shout out to his photographer. He’s always with him; does a great job [depicting] that Conor is bigger than he actually is. That’s the number one.”
Furthermore, the American MMA stalwart harked back to his second-round KO win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 in May 2022. Chandler explained that during his post-fight octagon interview at UFC 274, he called for a welterweight bout against McGregor. On that note, the 37-year-old said:
“So, naturally, Conor can’t say the fight’s at 155 because he wants you guys to think that he’s too big to make 155, which is not true. And he also can’t say it’s at 170, because that would mean that he’s not in control, because I originally called a fight at welterweight, at 170. So, naturally, he says 185. Do I believe the fight’s at 185? He*k, I’m game.”
Check out Michael Chandler’s comments below (2:26):
