"Conor is better than we think he is" - Michael Chandler gives his take on the trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier
Michael Chandler doesn't agree with the narrative that Dustin Poirer would have "ran through" Conor McGregor if the Irishman hadn't broken his leg at UFC 264.
The former Bellator champion said McGregor doesn't get enough credit for coming back strong after being dominated momentarily in the early rounds.
Speaking to fans during a Q&A session on Instagram, Chandler weighed in on the much-hyped trilogy fight between McGregor and Poirier.
"A lot of people said that Dustin (Poirier) was just gonna run through him (Conor McGregor). I don't know if Dustin necessarily runs through him. Chad Mendes ran through Conor and then Chad Mendes lost that fight. Conor is better than we think he is a lot of times at dealing with the early onslaught and the early adversity and the early takedown, the early wrestling and grappling, he's good at it," said Michael Chandler.
Chandler said Poirier would have definitely had the upper hand if the fight continued further, but he wouldn't have dominated the Irishman.
'Iron' went on to compare the UFC 264 main event fight with his title clash against Charles Oliveira, where he was clearly the superior fighter in the first round. Before the second frame, the MMA community favored Chandler to beat the Brazilian, however, 'Do Bronx' turned the tide of the fight by knocking him out.
Michael Chandler's Instagram live video was uploaded to The Mac Life's YouTube channel, which you can watch below:
Michael Chandler wants to fight Justin Gaethje next
After losing out on the UFC lightweight title against Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler is now gunning for a fight opposite Justin Gaethje.
However, according to the 35-year-old, 'The Highlight' is not interested in sharing the octagon with him. Chandler claimed he has been requesting the UFC to book a fight between him and Gaethje, but the #2-ranked lightweight declined the challenge "three or four times."
Chandler made his UFC debut against Dan Hooker at UFC 257. He knocked out the New Zealander in the first round of the fight. Despite not repeating that success at UFC 262, it's clear Chandler has what it takes to hang with the best in the division.