John McCarthy and Josh Thomson explain why Michael Chandler's best chance at being UFC champion was 4-5 years ago
![L-R: Josh Thomson, Michael Chandler, and John McCarthy [Photo credit: YouTube.com]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/05/e8270-16539860968121-1920.jpg?w=500)
Host of the Weighing In podcast, John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, believe Michael Chandler's window to become a UFC champion has closed.
Chandler has taken the UFC by storm ever since he made his promotional debut against Dan Hooker in January 2021. However, he's currently 2-2 in the octagon after bouts with fellow lightweight stars Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Tony Ferguson.
Both McCarthy and Thomson believe that Chandler's recent run was a success. However, they are of the opinion that UFC gold will elude 'Iron' throughout his stint.
According to Thomson, Chandler's best chance of winning a UFC title was around the 2014 range, when Eddie Alvarez came over to the promotion:
"If he would've came when Eddie [Alvarez] came, there's a good chance he would have been the UFC champ. That's the way I look at it. I mean, him and Eddie had battles and those were great fights. Eddie became UFC champ and Chandler for sure could've beaten Eddie and he could've beaten everybody else who was there that time."
McCarthy agreed with his co-host's assessment. According to the former UFC referee:
"I agree with what Josh was saying as far as I think that the time period for Michael to actually be the guy in the UFC was about four to five years ago. If he would've come when he was 29, 30, come over when Eddie had came over, it would have been a perfect time for him. He would've done extremely well."
Watch the video below:
John McCarthy previews Michael Chandler vs. Nate Diaz
After knocking out Tony Ferguson in spectacular fashion, Michael Chandler is on the hunt for his next opponent. One of the names being mentioned as a potential matchup for Chandler is beloved octagon bad-boy Nate Diaz.
Previewing the potential fight, John McCarthy said that Chandler should have the advantage over Diaz:
"It's going to be a tough fight for him [Diaz]... that's gonna be a very difficult fight for Nate to win, in my opinion. I love Nate but good wrestlers have always been his kryptonite... Chandler is a good wrestler. Chandler is physically strong whereas Nate's not that strong of a guy. His submissions are good but they're not going to catch Chandler, especially as the fight goes on and on."
Check out John McCarthy's comments below:
Nate Diaz has been looking for a fight for a considerable amount of time. Currently on the last fight of his contract, the Stockton native has even expressed interest in taking on Dustin Poirier and Khamazat Chimaev.
However, it seems that the UFC might have other plans for Diaz as the promotion seems unwilling to book a fight for him.