Despite having not fought for over a year, Michael Chandler has been a busy man of late. He was in attendance at UFC 298 to witness Ilia Topuria become the UFC Featherweight Champion in Anaheim, California. Less than 48 hours after the event, ‘Iron’ Mike was seen in the front row at WWE Monday Night Raw, where he took to the microphone and cut a promo, calling out ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor, urging the Irishman to sign on the dotted line and agree to fight him sooner rather than later.
Chandler At WWE Monday Night RAW
Public speaking takes a lot of guts at the best of times, especially when it’s off the cuff, and you haven’t prepared what you’re going to say, as was the case with Chandler:
”There was nothing prepared; I was thrown into the fire. The electricity in that arena was as big as a Saturday night with the UFC, if not bigger” – Chandler told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
Chandler’s performance on the microphone impressed the WWE brass, and he said that he’s open to working with the company in the future, something which is now possible given the TKO merger between the UFC and WWE. It’s something we should get used to seeing more of going forward – Tabatha Ricci and Jalin Turner were also in attendance at Monday Night RAW.
Will Chandler Ever Fight Conor McGregor?
Given he’s been so busy doing other things, does Michael Chandler still have the same drive to be a fighter? The answer is yes. Will the fight with Conor McGregor still happen? Well, Chandler thinks so, but it’s fair to say it’s still up in the air. A year has passed since it was announced that McGregor and Chandler would be the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter Season 31. The coaches usually fight soon after the conclusion of the series, but we’re still to get official confirmation of a fight between the two.
”There’s a lot of complicated stuff happening behind the scenes,” – said Chandler. Nobody’s had to feel like they’ve waited longer [for a fight] than me, you know? I’ve been ready to fight since right after The Ultimate Fighter. I also understand… the time off has been good, the time off with my family has been good, business has been booming outside of me fighting in the cage for a paycheck. Conor’s got his stuff going on; he’s promoting Roadhouse, that’s coming out in March. Obviously, there was the USADA stuff, and as Dana said, money complicates things.”
The comments were in reference to Dana White saying at the UFC 298 press conference that it’s sometimes difficult to get fighters to commit when they have earned a lot of money. Many fans have given up on the hope of seeing McGregor return to the octagon, but Chandler told Helwani that he’s had many assurances that the fight will happen. He seems adamant that his next bout in the UFC will be against the sport’s biggest star.
The UFC’s ‘International Fight Week’ is scheduled for June 29, and Helwani asked Chandler if that was the date he believes a fight with McGregor would happen. He didn’t commit in his response but alluded to the fact the date would make sense as a fight of that magnitude should be on a marquee card for the organization. It’s also the date McGregor said he would fight Chandler in a previous video uploaded to his Twitter account. Either way, we should get some news soon.
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