Michael Chandler talks about the "car crash" against Conor McGregor after Dana White hints at a fight between them
Michael Chandler could be one step closer to the most lucrative fight of his MMA career. UFC President Dana White told ESPN that he could be Conor McGregor's first opponent when he returns to the octagon.
During an interview with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, Chandler described McGregor's fighting style and mentioned that the first round between them has all the makings of becoming an all-time classic, saying:
"People have said they think it's going to be the fastest pace, craziest first round of all time and I think it definitely will be. The way that Conor McGregor starts fights, the way I start fights, it's a car crash in the middle of an octagon. Hopefully in the middle of T-Mobile Arena here in Vegas in July, so it's gonna be huge, it's gonna be awesome, and I believe it's gonna happen." [14:28 - 14:48]
'Iron' is very optimistic that the fight will take place during International Fight Week in July, which would only heighten the magnitude of the bout. The former Bellator lightweight champion has even stated that he would be willing to compete against 'The Notorious' at 170lbs. He mentioned that the decision would be up to the promotion, saying:
"We'll see if it happens. Obviously Dana's [White] on board with it. I think the UFC is on board with it. I do think Conor is on board with it. We've seen mine and his interactions in the past, you're not gonna see me out here bad mouthing him and motherf'ing him and tweeting him and all that kind of stuff, that's not my style." [11:00 - 11:15]
Chandler will have a long layoff should the UFC make his fight with McGregor official. He will need to wait for the former two-division champion to re-enter the USADA testing pool for 6 months.
Check out the full interview below:
Michael Chandler has competed at welterweight in the past
Despite achieving his success competing at lightweight, Michael Chandler is no stranger to the welterweight division.
May15.2010
Michael Chandler earns the first submission victory of his career,
when he finishes Sal Woods with a rear naked choke https://t.co/C6kkeVyBmM
'Iron' made his MMA debut at First Blood OFC in 2009, where he defeated Kyle Swadley via first-round TKO. In the four fights that followed, he competed at both 165lbs and 170lbs in Strikeforce and Bellator respectively.
After beginning his career with an unbeaten 5-0 record, 'Iron' committed to a permanent move to lightweight to compete in the Bellator season 4 lightweight tournament. The tournament saw him earn a unanimous decision win against Patricky 'Pitbull' Freire in the finals.