Finally, the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter season 31 are finally facing off this summer. The return of Conor McGregor has been hugely anticipated despite not having fought for almost three years. ‘The Notorious’ inactivity hasn’t done much to hamper the Irishman’s star power, and Michael Chandler has finally been given his reward after displaying an enormous amount of patience over the past eighteen months.
Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler finally announced
Much has been made of the method by which the UFC announced Conor McGregor’s return. There was no promo for the fight with Chandler, nor was there a revelation during the broadcast of UFC 300. Instead, Dana White was handed a piece of paper during the post-fight press conference last weekend and read its brief contents: Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler would take place on June 29 at UFC 303.
In fairness, McGregor and Chandler have stated numerous times over the past couple of months that the fight would take place in June, and McGregor even announced the fight himself at the start of the year, although unofficially. All of this rendered Dana White’s announcement of the fight unsurprising, so perhaps there wasn’t a need to dramatize too much and detract from the huge event that was UFC 300.
Either way, the way the fight was announced doesn’t matter greatly; the main thing is that us fans are finally getting the fight. Given it’s taken so long for this fight to be officially announced, some still doubt whether the fight will go ahead and refuse to believe it until they actually witness both men in the cage. Michael Chandler, however, is not one of those doubters:
”Listen, I may have some doubts that he [McGregor] is training as hard as me. I may have some doubts that he is taking this as serious as me. I’m a guy who doesn’t have too big of an ego to give my opponent – the man I want to dismantle – some props. He’s had multiple opponents in the past pull out [at] short notice. When he signs his name to the dotted line, when it comes down to it, the man will show up. It’s going to be an act of God or a ridiculous set of circumstances for him not to show up” – Chandler told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
Chandler’s tactics for the fight
The main reason Conor McGregor has spent such a lengthy spell on the sidelines is because of the horrific leg injury he suffered against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in the summer of 2021. Looking from the outside, it would make sense for Chandler to attack McGregor’s now rehabilitated leg. That’s unlikely to happen, according to Chandler. Perhaps he’s bluffing, but that’s doubtful, as the reasons he gave Helwani stack up.
McGregor fights Southpaw and Chandler Orthodox. Therefore, the leg Chandler would’ve been looking to target, McGregor’s right leg, would be furthest away. He also doesn’t want to focus too much on one thing as it could impact his performance. Chandler is known as an in-your-face, relentless-pressure fighter, and he will focus more on his strengths rather than any potential weakness McGregor has going into the fight. Chandler is looking to utilize his wrestling skills against McGregor at UFC 303, a skillset which he views is superior to ‘The Notorious’:
”If I get somebody down [to the canvas], they’re not getting back up. I like the idea of picking up Conor and putting him down. I also like the idea of making good on the promise of knocking him out in the second round with my hands. I think from the first exchange, Conor will second-guess himself. By the end of the first round, he’s going to know that he should have found a different opponent. I finish him in the second [round], whether that be on the ground or on the feet, but I’d like to keep it [the fight] on the feet.”
UFC 303 takes place on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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